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Changes in the Budget mean landlords are facing higher bills over the next three yearsView the full article

Adding music to your video can greatly improve its overall quality and engagement. To get started, you’ll want to choose a video editing platform that supports multitrack editing, which allows for more flexibility. Next, selecting the right music that matches the tone of your video is essential. Once you’ve imported your chosen track, you’ll edit and sync it with your visuals for a cohesive result. Ready to learn how to execute each step effectively? Key Takeaways Choose a video editing platform like Riverside that supports multitrack editing and has a user-friendly interface. Select music that aligns with your video’s tone from royalty-free sources or built-in libraries. Import your chosen music by accessing the video dashboard and adding it to the editing timeline. Edit and sync the audio track by trimming, adjusting volume levels, and applying fade-ins and fade-outs. Export your video with the correct resolution and aspect ratio, ensuring audio is well-balanced before sharing. Choose a Video Editing Platform When you’re ready to add music to your video, the first step is choosing a video editing platform that meets your needs. Select a platform that supports multitrack editing, like Riverside, which makes it easy to integrate and customize audio tracks. Make sure it provides access to a library of royalty-free music or allows you to upload your own tracks to avoid copyright issues. Look for crucial features such as fading in and out, volume adjustments, and the ability to sync music with video clips for a polished result. Furthermore, check the export options, including resolution and aspect ratios suitable for various social media channels. A user-friendly interface with helpful tutorials can greatly improve your editing experience and streamline learning how to add music to a video. Select the Right Music How do you select the right music for your video? Start by choosing tracks that align with your video’s tone. Upbeat music suits promotional content, whereas calm melodies work for tutorials. Consider the emotional impact; the right track can improve storytelling and engage viewers. Pay attention to genre and mood, as these factors greatly shape your audience’s perception. To simplify your search, utilize royalty-free music sources like Bensound, Pixabay, and Soundstripe, ensuring legal use and avoiding copyright issues. Moreover, take advantage of built-in music libraries in editing platforms, like Riverside, to quickly find suitable tracks. Import Music Into Your Video Importing music into your video is a straightforward process that can greatly improve its quality and engagement. To add music to video using Riverside, first access the dashboard and select your video. Click the “Music” icon in the right toolbar to insert audio to video, allowing you to choose from available tracks. Use the “+” button to add audio to MP4 and place it on the editing timeline. Make sure the music track is trimmed and positioned correctly to sync with key moments in your video. Adjust the volume settings for clarity, so dialogue remains audible. Finally, implement fade-ins and fade-outs for smooth changes, enhancing the overall viewing experience of your video. Edit and Sync Your Music Track After you’ve successfully imported your music, the next step focuses on editing and syncing your music track. To effectively add sound to video, follow these steps: Trim the audio in your video editor’s timeline to match the length of your clips. Use the “Zoom” slider to view the audio waveform for precise adjustments that sync with key moments. Adjust the volume levels of your music track, ensuring it complements dialogue, typically setting it lower for clarity. Implement fade-ins and fade-outs on your music track for smooth shifts, enhancing the overall viewing experience. Export Your Video Masterpiece Exporting your video masterpiece is a crucial step in the editing process, and it requires careful attention to detail. Choose dimensions that suit your platform, like 16:9 for YouTube or 9:16 for TikTok. Select a resolution, ranging from 720p to 2160p, for the best quality. Riverside provides options to remove watermarks, normalize audio levels, and reduce background noise during export, ensuring a polished final product. Setting Options Dimensions 16:9 (YouTube), 9:16 (TikTok) Resolution 720p, 1080p, 2160p Watermark Removal Yes Audio Normalization Yes After adjusting your settings, click “Export video.” Always review your work to confirm audio levels and music synchronization before sharing. Frequently Asked Questions How Do I Add Music in a Simple Video? To add music to a simple video, start by choosing a video editing software that allows audio integration. Import your video and the music track, guaranteeing it’s royalty-free. Drag the audio onto the timeline, aligning it with your video clips. Adjust the length as needed, and use volume controls to make certain dialogue remains clear during the music complements the visuals. Finally, export your finished video in the desired format for sharing. What Is the Best Free App to Add Music to a Video? For adding music to your videos, iMovie stands out for Mac and iPhone users, offering a vast library of soundtracks and effects. If you’re on Android, Google Photos simplifies the process with its easy-to-use interface and music options. Windows users can rely on Clipchamp, which includes audio editing features. Furthermore, apps like Add Audio to Video and Add Music to Video Editor provide quick solutions for seamless integration of local music and voiceovers. How to Transition Music in a Video? To shift music in a video effectively, start with fade-in and fade-out effects for smooth audio shifts at track beginnings and ends. Sync music changes with key visuals, enhancing the overall impact. Adjust volume levels to lower background music during dialogue, ensuring clarity. Implement crossfades to blend tracks seamlessly, maintaining rhythm. Regularly preview shifts in your editing software to fine-tune timing, ensuring the music supports the narrative without distracting the audience. How Do I Add Music to My Clips Video? To add music to your clips, start by accessing your video editing software. Look for the music or audio section, where you can upload your chosen track or select from a library. Trim the track as needed, adjust its position, and modify the volume to fit your video. Utilize fade-in and fade-out effects for smooth shifts, and make certain the music is royalty-free to avoid copyright issues before exporting your final product. Conclusion By following these five straightforward steps, you can effectively add music to your video, enhancing its overall appeal. Choosing the right video editing platform, selecting fitting music, and synchronizing the audio will guarantee a polished final product. After editing, exporting your video in the appropriate format allows for easy sharing across various platforms. With careful attention to each step, you’ll create a compelling multimedia experience that resonates with your audience. Image via Google Gemini This article, "How to Add Music to Video: A Step-by-Step Guide for Creators" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Adding music to your video can greatly improve its overall quality and engagement. To get started, you’ll want to choose a video editing platform that supports multitrack editing, which allows for more flexibility. Next, selecting the right music that matches the tone of your video is essential. Once you’ve imported your chosen track, you’ll edit and sync it with your visuals for a cohesive result. Ready to learn how to execute each step effectively? Key Takeaways Choose a video editing platform like Riverside that supports multitrack editing and has a user-friendly interface. Select music that aligns with your video’s tone from royalty-free sources or built-in libraries. Import your chosen music by accessing the video dashboard and adding it to the editing timeline. Edit and sync the audio track by trimming, adjusting volume levels, and applying fade-ins and fade-outs. Export your video with the correct resolution and aspect ratio, ensuring audio is well-balanced before sharing. Choose a Video Editing Platform When you’re ready to add music to your video, the first step is choosing a video editing platform that meets your needs. Select a platform that supports multitrack editing, like Riverside, which makes it easy to integrate and customize audio tracks. Make sure it provides access to a library of royalty-free music or allows you to upload your own tracks to avoid copyright issues. Look for crucial features such as fading in and out, volume adjustments, and the ability to sync music with video clips for a polished result. Furthermore, check the export options, including resolution and aspect ratios suitable for various social media channels. A user-friendly interface with helpful tutorials can greatly improve your editing experience and streamline learning how to add music to a video. Select the Right Music How do you select the right music for your video? Start by choosing tracks that align with your video’s tone. Upbeat music suits promotional content, whereas calm melodies work for tutorials. Consider the emotional impact; the right track can improve storytelling and engage viewers. Pay attention to genre and mood, as these factors greatly shape your audience’s perception. To simplify your search, utilize royalty-free music sources like Bensound, Pixabay, and Soundstripe, ensuring legal use and avoiding copyright issues. Moreover, take advantage of built-in music libraries in editing platforms, like Riverside, to quickly find suitable tracks. Import Music Into Your Video Importing music into your video is a straightforward process that can greatly improve its quality and engagement. To add music to video using Riverside, first access the dashboard and select your video. Click the “Music” icon in the right toolbar to insert audio to video, allowing you to choose from available tracks. Use the “+” button to add audio to MP4 and place it on the editing timeline. Make sure the music track is trimmed and positioned correctly to sync with key moments in your video. Adjust the volume settings for clarity, so dialogue remains audible. Finally, implement fade-ins and fade-outs for smooth changes, enhancing the overall viewing experience of your video. Edit and Sync Your Music Track After you’ve successfully imported your music, the next step focuses on editing and syncing your music track. To effectively add sound to video, follow these steps: Trim the audio in your video editor’s timeline to match the length of your clips. Use the “Zoom” slider to view the audio waveform for precise adjustments that sync with key moments. Adjust the volume levels of your music track, ensuring it complements dialogue, typically setting it lower for clarity. Implement fade-ins and fade-outs on your music track for smooth shifts, enhancing the overall viewing experience. Export Your Video Masterpiece Exporting your video masterpiece is a crucial step in the editing process, and it requires careful attention to detail. Choose dimensions that suit your platform, like 16:9 for YouTube or 9:16 for TikTok. Select a resolution, ranging from 720p to 2160p, for the best quality. Riverside provides options to remove watermarks, normalize audio levels, and reduce background noise during export, ensuring a polished final product. Setting Options Dimensions 16:9 (YouTube), 9:16 (TikTok) Resolution 720p, 1080p, 2160p Watermark Removal Yes Audio Normalization Yes After adjusting your settings, click “Export video.” Always review your work to confirm audio levels and music synchronization before sharing. Frequently Asked Questions How Do I Add Music in a Simple Video? To add music to a simple video, start by choosing a video editing software that allows audio integration. Import your video and the music track, guaranteeing it’s royalty-free. Drag the audio onto the timeline, aligning it with your video clips. Adjust the length as needed, and use volume controls to make certain dialogue remains clear during the music complements the visuals. Finally, export your finished video in the desired format for sharing. What Is the Best Free App to Add Music to a Video? For adding music to your videos, iMovie stands out for Mac and iPhone users, offering a vast library of soundtracks and effects. If you’re on Android, Google Photos simplifies the process with its easy-to-use interface and music options. Windows users can rely on Clipchamp, which includes audio editing features. Furthermore, apps like Add Audio to Video and Add Music to Video Editor provide quick solutions for seamless integration of local music and voiceovers. How to Transition Music in a Video? To shift music in a video effectively, start with fade-in and fade-out effects for smooth audio shifts at track beginnings and ends. Sync music changes with key visuals, enhancing the overall impact. Adjust volume levels to lower background music during dialogue, ensuring clarity. Implement crossfades to blend tracks seamlessly, maintaining rhythm. Regularly preview shifts in your editing software to fine-tune timing, ensuring the music supports the narrative without distracting the audience. How Do I Add Music to My Clips Video? To add music to your clips, start by accessing your video editing software. Look for the music or audio section, where you can upload your chosen track or select from a library. Trim the track as needed, adjust its position, and modify the volume to fit your video. Utilize fade-in and fade-out effects for smooth shifts, and make certain the music is royalty-free to avoid copyright issues before exporting your final product. Conclusion By following these five straightforward steps, you can effectively add music to your video, enhancing its overall appeal. Choosing the right video editing platform, selecting fitting music, and synchronizing the audio will guarantee a polished final product. After editing, exporting your video in the appropriate format allows for easy sharing across various platforms. With careful attention to each step, you’ll create a compelling multimedia experience that resonates with your audience. Image via Google Gemini This article, "How to Add Music to Video: A Step-by-Step Guide for Creators" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Living in a comfortable, heated house is something a lot of us take for granted. When the cold weather hits, we just put on thick socks, turn up the thermostat (or take other steps), and go about our business. But most modern homes rely on the electrical grid to keep that heat flowing. Even if your home is heated by natural gas or heating oil, there’s most likely an electric component to your heating system. That means that when the power goes out—say, in the middle of a fierce blizzard—so does your heat. Even recently built homes can lose interior heat pretty quickly, dropping to uncomfortable (and even unsafe) temperatures within a day at most. If you’re not sure when power will be restored, you’ll need to find a way to keep the place as warm as possible if you and your property are going to come out of the experience unscathed. Here are are four ways to keep your house warm if your heat goes out. Pre-heat your home before a stormIf you have some warning that a power loss is possible during the cold months—a winter storm warning, for example—it’s a good idea to “pre-heat” your home. The warmer your house is when the power goes out, the longer it will remain at a safe and/or comfortable temperature. You don’t necessarily want to make it tropical, but a few degrees higher than usual will buy you some time if the power goes out. Combined with sealing the house as tightly as possible—by hanging thermal curtains or blankets over windows, applying plastic insulation kits to windows, and deploying draft stoppers under doorways and anywhere else cold air is getting in—this strategy can be very effective. Isolate your family to a single roomTrying to keep a large house warm without an active heating system is a fool’s errand. Instead, focus on a single room where everyone in the house can gather, because a small room is a lot easier to warm up. A few considerations about which room to choose: Since heat rises, rooms on upper floors will be warmer than rooms on the main floor. A room that gets a lot of sunlight can be warmed during the day by opening up the curtains and letting that solar energy do its thing. Smaller rooms will be easier to heat up, but consider how many people will need to live and sleep in there. Rooms near bathrooms (or with en-suite baths) offer a bit more convenience, especially if you’re going to be hunkering down for a while. Once you’ve selected the room you’ll be using, try to keep it closed up as much as possible (covering windows, stopping up drafts, keeping the door closed). Introducing an indoor-safe heater is a good idea if you have one (or you can make one; see below). If none of the rooms in your house are ideal, you could also consider setting up a tent indoors. Tents are designed to hold in heat, and can create a small, controllable environment that will be easier to keep warm in a pinch. Make your own DIY heater with candles and clay potsIf you’ve planned ahead and have an indoor-safe propane or kerosene heater (or even a solar-powered portable heater), that will obviously help to keep your home warm (just be certain to follow all the instructions for ventilating whatever space you’re heating up). If you haven’t, or you discover that your propane tanks have leaked and you have no fuel, don’t despair. You can still generate heat by building a candle-pot heater, which is an old-school way of generating some quick heat. A candle-pot heater is pretty easy to set up: You’ll need 1-3 clay flower pots (or similar ceramic containers) in different sizes, some non-flammable materials to set up on (bricks or stone tiles will work), and some candles. Then arrange everything: Set up your bricks or other materials to create a raised platform, with plenty of airflow. Place your smallest pot upside down on the bricks and cover the hole in the bottom (if it’s a flowerpot). Place the larger pot on top, and then the largest on top of that if you have three pots. Place your candles underneath and light them. The candles don’t produce much heat, but the clay pots will absorb that heat and slowly start to radiate out. Instead of the candles’ heat just rising up to your ceiling and being cooled by the frigid air already in the room, the pots capture it and intensify it. Will this replace your home’s heating system, or even a portable propane heater? Not by a mile. But it will make a difference, especially in a small space. A few things to keep in mind here: Candles are open flames, so never leave your heater unattended, and always be conscious of fire hazards. You can place a foil-covered panel behind the heater to help reflect the heat in a specific direction (say, toward the chair you’re sitting in). Get a furnace battery backupIf you have a gas furnace, it’s not that hard to keep it running even during a blackout if you have an alternative power source like a generator or even a power bank. The furnace needs electricity to run the ignition, the blower, and communication between the thermostat and the furnace or boiler. A decent generator or robust battery can definitely keep your furnace running for a while—and those extra hours or days could be crucial in an extended cold-weather blackout. If you can see an obvious on/off switch on your furnace, you can pretty easily install a transfer switch like this one (here’s a video demonstrating how it’s done). This allows you to plug in a generator or power bank and keep your furnace running even when the power’s out—all you have to do is plug it in and flip the switch. If you’re not entirely comfortable with electrical wiring, you can hire a licensed electrician to install it as well, of course. Once it’s done, you’ll never have to worry about a cold house again—as long as you pair the switch with a generator or battery solution of sufficient power to keep things running. View the full article

Change would hit buyout groups Blackstone and Cerberus that have amassed large residential portfoliosView the full article

A shared client base helped lead to introduction of the new integration, with implementation scheduled to come later this year, the companies said. View the full article

At CES 2026, Swedish furniture giant Ikea showed off its new Kallsup Bluetooth speaker, which will cost just $10 in the U.S. Normally, I'd be skeptical of any speaker this cheap, but the Kallsup grabbed my attention for a few reasons—chief among them that Ikea says you can chain up to 100 of them together to create the multi-speaker setup of your dreams. That aside, the hardware seems pretty basic: The speaker has a USB-C port at the back, and two buttons up top (play/pause, and pair). Chaining together Bluetooth speakers is nothing new, but this is the first time I'm seeing the ability to pair as many as 100 of them. The only reason this use case is even remotely plausible is the pricing: As reported by The Verge, the Kallsup Bluetooth speaker will be priced at $10 in the U.S. and €5 (roughly $6) in Europe, which means you can buy 10 of them for the same price as one HomePod mini. The Verge also says that once you pair one of them to your phone (the company promises Bluetooth 5.3 support), you can add more to the chain with a two-button sequence. Design-wise, the speakers are cubical and colorful, which I'm a fan of (at the moment, Ikea is showing them off in white, green, and pink). But how do they sound? Well, Gizmodo says that while they are loud, they don't deliver much in the way of bass. I'd love to get a couple to judge for myself before committing to chaining a few dozen of them together, but I definitely admire Ikea's big swing here. That said, while CES is the place to grab attention with out-there ideas, and I am struggling to find a use case for chaining 100 Bluetooth speakers together. Maybe if you're an amusement park owner and you want the cheapest possible audio setup for a haunted house? Likely most people will be content with a more reasonable number of them, spread around the house. View the full article

Largely strong credit qualities were offset because by loans on single-family homes in the pool dropping by 0.5%, and that the percentage of loans that received due diligence decreased by 0.4%. View the full article

Workflow integration software is no longer an option. It’s a necessity. The average organization used 106 SaaS apps in 2025. That means your workflows go through multiple platforms by default, with essential data scattered across them. But dig a bit beyond that number and you’ll find another story. That average actually went down — from 113 — since 2024. What does that mean? More and more organizations are realizing that just adding tools to their stack doesn’t solve all their collaboration problems. They’re trying to cut down on redundant platforms and streamline the way they work. But removing tools isn’t the only way you can do this. Workflow integration software can help you get more out of your tool stack and unlock new collaboration opportunities. Here’s how leaders at your organization can choose the best workflow integration software and how to deploy it efficiently. The difference between workflow integration and automation At its core, workflow integration is about bridging the gap between tools so data can flow between them without any manual intervention. It turns a sequence of disconnected tools, all essential for your work, into a single environment. No bit of context goes missing in the gaps between tools because there are no gaps. Think of workflow integration like your nervous system, connecting your brain to every single organ, muscle, and bone in your body. That system carries signals to and from your brain near-instantaneously, allowing your body to move, act, and react. Workflow automation performs a similar function, but with some key differences. For one, workflow automation tools (e.g., Zapier, Workato) typically only move data in one direction. Whether they’re updating existing data in one platform or creating a new version to match context in another, these tools don’t look back. You can, through extensive customization, turn a sequence of one way actions into a kind of two-way relationship, but this requires some technical skill. Another difference between workflow automation and workflow integration? Automations can typically only perform the simplest actions, like updating a single field (e.g., a description, a date, or a dropdown) or creating a single work item (e.g., a task, a spreadsheet row, a ticket). Workflow integration platforms naturally chain these simple actions to unify data more deeply, without additional maintenance from the end user. If workflow integration tools are the nervous tissue connecting the platforms you use, workflow automation tools are more like an assembly line in a factory, automatically pushing a task through until it’s done. Still powerful, but more limited. How to choose the right workflow integration software Knowing that workflow integration software is essential for your organization is one thing. Choosing the right one is another. With hundreds of vendors on the market, having a clear idea of your needs is essential to making the right choice—potentially saving you months of work and thousands of dollars in software budget. The following seven characteristics will help you find the right tool. Platform compatibility The first thing you need to know about a potential vendor is whether they support the software platforms your workflow needs. If your ticket escalation workflow requires that your software development team use Jira and your customer success team use ServiceNow, vendors that only support Jira can be eliminated. This goes beyond just ensuring an integration is available. You need to dig a little deeper to ensure the workflow integration software actually supports what you need. Some software, for example, doesn’t support custom fields, while others only integrate with cloud-based platforms. Ease of use Some workflow integration software requires coding knowledge to operate. Other platforms can be used by anyone, regardless of their technical abilities. One might seem inherently better than the other, but that’s not always the case. If you only want your IT teams to control which platforms get integrated, how this is done, and when changes can be made, then you might want workflow integration software with more of a learning curve. Conversely, if you want to democratize access to your integration platform so everyone from junior team members to leadership can build integrations, you’ll want an option that’s easier to use. Technical resources required Workflow integration software often requires technical resources to deploy, use, and customize. That can range from just having your IT teams meet with the vendor to share a list of requirements to regular maintenance for each integration, meaning you need to dedicate IT resources just to keeping everything running smoothly. Increased ownership (and complexity) comes with an added need for resources. Consider the resources you’re willing to commit to managing an integration solution and review the commitments each vendor requires. Enterprise suitability Not every workflow integration software is suited to enterprise organizations. These companies have specific needs ranging from enhanced data security (e.g., SOC 2 Type 2) to massive volumes of data. Workflow integration software not specifically designed for enterprise organizations may be more attractive due to a lower subscription cost or ease of use but may be lacking in other critical areas. Typically, you can discover an integration platform’s enterprise suitability early in your conversations with a vendor. Just make sure you have a list of your requirements on hand. Deployment time Can you wait weeks or months to have your workflow integration needs met? Or do you need a turnaround of just a few days? Some solutions, despite fitting your requirements in other areas, may not come online quickly enough to make an impact. Research your options, consulting customer review sites like G2 and Capterra to get a sense of a platform’s average deployment time. Customizability Not every example of workflow integration software can do exactly what you need as-is, especially if you’re an enterprise organization. For example, you might find a platform that meets the majority of your requirements but doesn’t support a critical integration. Can you meet with that vendor and get custom development done to create that integration? If not, you may want to look elsewhere. When evaluating customizability, ask about room for growing needs you may not be aware of. Price Cost is an important aspect of every purchase, and workflow integration software is no different. If a platform’s price of admission far outweighs the savings you’ll get from productivity gains, then you can safely eliminate it as an option. That said, you should also be wary of platforms with a price that seems too good to be true. Typically, that’s reflective of a tool that might not be quite mature enough to fit your needs. Finally, consider costs beyond an initial subscription or contract. With some platforms, you may need additional (paid) services or third-party experts to get them working just right. How to deploy workflow integration software Once you’ve chosen the right workflow integration platform, you need to actually deploy it (i.e., connect it to your tools and start syncing data). Here’s how that’s done, as well as some challenges you should be aware of. Step-by-step deployment checklist Ready to start? Here’s a checklist for deploying workflow integration software and handling any issues that might emerge as you do. Identify workflows to integrate: Don’t aim to integrate every single workflow, especially not right away. Identify high-priority workflows for integration, workflows that can do without an integration for now, and workflows that don’t need one at all. Gather stakeholders: Every workflow has its stakeholders, and each stakeholder needs to be involved in integrating it. That involvement can vary from providing a list of needs to being involved in every conversation. List the tools to integrate: When you’ve chosen your high-priority workflows, list all the tools involved, ranking them by how important they are. When you first deploy your integration solution, you may not be able to integrate everything, which makes this prioritization exercise important. Find the right vendor: You can source software integration vendors through online searches and conversations with leaders at other companies. From there, use the characteristics above to identify vendors suited to your needs and choose the right workflow integration software. Run a pilot project: Before you deploy an integration platform across all your workflows, you need to see how it performs. Pick a single workflow that, ideally, won’t affect critical projects or high-priority tasks. Deploy your integration throughout this workflow and use it as a test. Run this test for a few weeks or months. Review results: After you’ve run your test, get feedback from the people involved, review productivity metrics, and log any incidents that happened because of your integration. By looking back on the impacts of your test, you can validate that the integration you chose is the right one and make changes as needed. Deploy workflow integration software in waves: Even after reviewing the results of your test, you shouldn’t deploy integrations in every workflow at once. You’ll want to slowly add integrations to your workflow over time, giving you the ability to see how they perform in different circumstances. Evaluate impact: When you’ve had a new integration running for some time, evaluate the results, and carry those learnings to future deployments. Reevaluate integration needs: Just because an integration has run relatively smoothly for some time doesn’t mean it’ll always be the one you need. Every year, spend a bit of time reevaluating the integrations you’re using and how they match your evolving needs. Consider other vendors and compare their offerings to your existing integrations. Deployment challenges to avoid When deploying workflow integration software, especially for the first time, be mindful of the following challenges: Misalignment on needs: Stakeholders involved in purchasing decisions for integration software may not have the same priorities as team leads and individual team members. You can avoid this by clearly defining these priorities before deployment, having the right people sign off on them, and referring to them throughout your deployment. Too much too soon: When you’ve just acquired a new integration platform, it’s tempting to connect everything to it right away and see results ASAP. But this could derail important projects if done incorrectly. Start with a small test to evaluate a platform’s capabilities before a more widespread deployment. Permission and security issues: You regulate access to essential tools strictly to prevent data breaches and other security risks. But integration platforms need at least some access to them. Misalignment or miscommunications can slow down deployment if the right access isn’t available at the right time. Technical issues: Integration platforms are inherently technical, even if they’re easy to use. It’s all too possible to run into technical issues that affect your deployment, making access to an IT team or a vendor’s customer support essential. 3 examples of the best workflow integration software Unito: Best workflow integration software for two-way sync Unito is a no-code workflow integration platform with some of the deepest two-way integrations for the most popular tools on the market, including ServiceNow, Salesforce, Jira, Wrike, Asana, and more. A single Unito flow can connect a block of work (e.g., Asana projects, ServiceNow tables) in one tool with a block of work in another, syncing data back and forth between them seamlessly. That means you’re always up to date, no matter what tool you’re working in. Key features: Two-way sync across 60+ applications 12-minute average setup time Field-level mapping with custom rules SOC 2 Type II certified Historical data migration Want to see what Unito can do? Meet with a product expert for a personalized demo. Talk with sales Dell Boomi Dell Boomi is a cloud-based data integration tool with a visual interface that allows everyone at your organization to build integrations quickly, no code required. Companies like Expedia, AT&T, LinkedIn, and American Express use Dell Boomi to integrate workflows spanning over 300,000 tools. Key features: Visual integration designer 300,000+ app connections Pre-built process templates API management tools Make (formerly Integromat) Make is another example of a no-code workflow integration platform that uses a drag-and-drop interface to empower users of all skill levels to build their first integration. That said, it’s more advanced than other integration platforms and can require additional maintenance to keep integrations working properly in the long run. Key features: Drag-and-drop interface No-code integration and automation AI agent development tools 3,000+ pre-built apps Why enterprise organizations are choosing two-way sync Workflow integration platforms aren’t all created equal, and there’s one feature in particular that separates enterprise-ready integrations from the rest. Two-way sync. A two-way sync creates true data fidelity between tools without relying on long chains of simple automations that can often create more problems than they solve. A true two-way sync tool prevents problems like infinite loops, duplicate work items, and the significant management that comes with these issues. That’s why more and more enterprise organizations are choosing integration platforms that offer a two-way sync. Platforms like Unito. Want to see what Unito can do? Meet with a product expert for a personalized demo. Talk with sales FAQ: Workflow integration software Can workflow integration software work with legacy systems? While this varies depending on the workflow integration software you use, most can support legacy systems up to a certain point. You may need to speak with a vendor to discuss custom development options to get this working right, however. What happens to my integrations if one of my connected apps changes its API? Most workflow integration software vendors anticipate API changes to ensure their platform still supports your integration. If you’ve built your own integrations, however, even a simple API change could break them, requiring some emergency software development work. How do workflow integration platforms handle data transformation between different systems? Most software tools have APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) that turn their data into something fitting some kind of universal language. Workflow integration platforms bridge the gap between the APIs in two tools, transforming data as needed so it becomes compatible with each tool. Can I integrate on-premise software with cloud applications? Not all workflow integration software supports on-premise installations, but many do. These platforms will allow you to integrate on-premise software with cloud applications, though this typically requires some additional configuration. What’s the difference between a real-time sync and a scheduled sync in workflow integrations? A real-time sync identifies and sends updates from tool to tool as they happen. This allows end users to work with context from multiple tools without leaving their own platform. No miscommunication and no misunderstandings. Scheduled syncs only check tools for updates intermittently, with delays ranging from 15 minutes to a month. While platforms offering only scheduled syncs can typically support more integrations, they don’t have the level of data fidelity a real-time sync offers. How do I prevent duplicate records when integrating systems? Many integration platforms have built-in duplicate detection features, preventing the accidental creation of duplicate records. Can workflow integration software handle a multi-step approval process? Absolutely. As long as the workflow integration software you use is compatible with all tools your approval process moves through, it can automatically sync multiple approvals as you work on tasks and deliverables. How does workflow integration software handle sensitive data like financial or health information? If you work with sensitive data like financial or health information, make sure you choose workflow integration software that has security certifications matching your field. In finance, for example, you should look for PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) or SOC 2/SOC 1 certifications. In healthcare, you’ll want to look for HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) compliance. View the full article

With AI tools at everyone’s fingertips, what does “great” content writing mean in 2026? Content writing is about using words and psychology to deliver value, earn trust, and move readers toward action. It includes blog posts, social media content, newsletters, and white papers. Or it can be scripts for video, podcasts, and presentations. Content Type Purpose Key Characteristics Blog posts Educate; build brand awareness and authority In-depth, structured, research-backed Social media posts Engage, entertain, build community Conversational, visual, platform-specific Email newsletters Nurture relationships; drive action Personal tone, value-driven, scannable Video/podcast scripts Entertain; educate through audio/visual Conversational, paced for speech, engaging hooks Presentations/webinars Educate and engage viewers for awareness Educational, crisp content presented visually Unlike copywriting, which persuades the audience to take an action, content writing builds trust through teaching. Thanks to AI tools, filling pages is easier and faster than ever. And as content becomes easier to produce, attention becomes harder to earn — whether readers are scrolling social feeds, skimming search results, or asking AI tools for quick answers. The best content writers bring a full toolkit: deep research, sharp critical thinking, strategic judgment, and the ability to apply those strengths in ways AI can’t replicate. In this guide, you’ll learn eight content writing skills that set top performers apart, shaped by my work with leading brands and insights from my colleagues at Backlinko. Important: Research and editing are learnable skills. But the instinct for what makes content memorable — what makes someone stop scrolling, what creates emotional resonance — that’s the human layer AI can’t recreate. 1. Build and Hone Your Research Skills Strong research is what separates fluff from content people trust. Here’s how to build a hands-on research process. Start with Your Audience Audience research is the easiest way to understand your readers: their pain points, goals, and hesitations. Start your research in a few simple but effective ways: Mine social media platforms to find emotional drivers behind buying decisions Skim product reviews to learn what excites or frustrates your audience Talk directly to your audience through polls, surveys, or 1:1 interviews Browse community forums to see real conversations around your subject For example, if you’re writing about the “best SaaS tools,” don’t rely on generic feature lists to inspire your content. Go where real SaaS buyers are sharing feedback — places like G2 reviews and user-generated forums like Reddit. These insights help you create genuinely helpful content that connects with readers. Rosanna Campbell, a senior writer for Backlinko, shares what she looks for when researching an audience: At a minimum, I like to spend time learning the jargon, current issues, etc., affecting my target reader — usually by lurking on platforms like Reddit, Quora, industry forums, LinkedIn threads, etc. I’ll also find one or two leading voices and read some of their recent content. But you don’t have to do all the heavy lifting yourself. AI can speed up much of this process. Note: AI won’t write great content for you, but it can streamline your research and editing process. Throughout this guide, I’ve included prompts to help you work smarter and faster — not let AI do the thinking for you. For instance, Michael Ofei, our managing editor, uses a strategic prompt to aggregate audience insights from multiple channels. Copy/paste this prompt into any AI tool to jumpstart your research (just update your topic description first). You are a content strategist researching audience pain points for: [TOPIC DESCRIPTION] RESEARCH SOURCES: Analyze discussions from Reddit, Quora, YouTube comments, LinkedIn posts, and People Also Ask sections from the last 12 months. PAIN POINT CRITERIA: Written as first-person “I” statements Specific and actionable (not vague) Include emotional context where relevant Reflect different sophistication levels (beginner to advanced) OUTPUT FORMAT: First, suggest 3-5 pain point categories for this topic’s user journey. Then create a table with: Category (from your suggested categories) Pain Point Statement (first person) User Level (Beginner/Intermediate/Advanced – use one for each pain point) Emotional Intensity (Low/Medium/High) Semantic Queries (related searches) Aim for 8-12 total pain points that help content rank for both traditional search and LLM responses. Provide only the essential table output, minimize explanatory text. After using this prompt for the topic “journalist outreach,” Michael received a helpful list of pain points mapped to user level and emotional intensity. Perform a Search Analysis Next, it’s time to review organic search results to assess what content already exists and where you can add value. Chris Shirlow, our senior editor, stresses the importance of looking closely at who’s ranking and how when studying search results: Analyzing search results gives me a quick pulse on the topic: how people are talking about it, what questions they’re asking, and even what pain points are showing up. From there, I can identify gaps, spot patterns in language and structure, and figure out how to create something that adds value, rather than just echoing what’s already out there. Pay attention to: Content depth: Is the content shallow (short posts) or comprehensive (long guides)? Authority: Who’s ranking — big brands, niche experts, or smaller sites? Visuals: What kind of visuals can make your content stand out? Gaps and missing angles: What’s missing that you could add? Then, repeat the same process with large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity. AI has changed how people discover and consume information. This means it’s no longer enough to rank on Google; your content also needs to surface in AI-generated answers. Notice the type of insights coming up in AI-generated responses, and find gaps in the results. Pay attention to the frequently cited brands and content formats to understand what AI considers “trusted.” Study those articles closely to see how they’re earning citations and mentions. Map Out Key Topics with Content Tools Tools like Semrush’s Topic Research also help you learn more about the topics your audience is interested in. Enter a topic like “lifecycle email marketing” and you’ll get a visual map of related themes like “loyalty program” and “segmenting your audience.” This gives you insight into the subtopics to cover, questions to answer, and angles that resonate with your audience. 2. Find Fresh Angles to Create Standout Content Don’t fall into the trap of rehashing what’s already ranking. Find new angles and content ideas to break through the crowd. Angles come from tension. This can be a surprising insight, a common mistake, a high-stakes story, or a view that challenges the norm. Without tension, you’re just adding to the noise. Here’s how to find them. Find Gaps in Existing Content Study the top-ranking and frequently cited articles for your topic, and see what’s missing. It could be: Shallow sections that need a deeper analysis Topics explained without visuals, examples, or case studies Predictable “safe takes” that ignore alternative perspectives and bold advice Use this framework to document these gaps. Content Gap What to Assess Depth Is the content surface-level? Are key topics rushed, repetitive, or missing nuance? Evidence Are claims backed by credible proof like examples, case studies, data, or visuals? Perspective Does it repeat what everyone else is saying, or bring a fresh angle? Format Is the information structured logically and easy to scan? Consider Opportunities for Information Gain Information gain adds unique value to your content compared to the existing content on the same topic. Think original data, free templates, and new strategies. Basically, it helps your content stand out from the crowd. And creates an “aha” moment for your readers. Use these tips to add information gain to your articles: Find concrete proof: Support your claims with original research, case studies, quotes, or real examples from your own experience or industry experts Expand on throwaway insights: Take loosely discussed ideas and cover them in detail with additional context, data, and actionable takeaways Counter predictable advice: Stand out with contrarian perspectives, exceptions, or overlooked approaches Address unanswered questions: Find what confuses readers and fill those gaps with your content At Backlinko, our writers and editors consider information gain early in outlining to uncover gaps and add value from the start. Here’s how our senior editor, Shannon Willoby, approaches it: I try not to default to common industry sources when gathering research. Everyone pulls from these, which is why you’ll often see industry blogs all quoting the same people, statistics, and insights. Instead, I look for lesser-known sources for information gain, like podcasts with industry experts, webinar transcripts, niche newsletters, and conference presentations. AI tools can also help with this task, but you’ll have to thoroughly vet the recommendations. In my own article on ecommerce SEO audits, I proposed a simplified, goal-based structure for the outline, with an actionable checklist — something missing from existing content. This approach gave readers a clearer roadmap instead of just another generic audit guide. Use AI as a Creativity Multiplier AI content tools make great sparring partners that enhance your thinking. For instance, Shannon shares her process for using AI to refine her research. Once I’ve drafted my main points, I’ll ask ChatGPT or Claude a question like, ‘What’s the next question a reader might have after this?’ This helps me spot gaps and add supporting details that make the article more valuable to the audience. The following prompts can help you find deeper angles and improve your audience alignment: How to use AI to improve content Prompts Find blind spots Here’s my research for an article on [topic]. What questions or objections would readers still have after going through this? List gaps I should address to make it feel more complete. Challenge assumptions I’m arguing that [insert your point]. Play devil’s advocate: what would be the strongest counterarguments against this view, and what evidence could support them? Explore alternative perspectives Rewrite this idea as if you were speaking to: (a) a total beginner, (b) a mid-level practitioner, and (c) a skeptic. Show me how each group would interpret or question it differently. 3. Back Up Your Points with Evidence Evidence-backed content gives weight to your arguments and makes abstract ideas easier to digest. It also helps your content stick in readers’ minds long after they’ve clicked away. This includes firsthand examples, data, case studies, and expert insights. The key is using reputable, industry-leading sources in your content writing. And backing up claims with verifiable proof. Pro tip: LLMs favor evidence-backed content when generating responses — boosting both your authority as a writer and your clients’ visibility. Here’s how different types of evidence can strengthen your content: Recent research data: Backs up trends and industry shifts with hard numbers Case studies: Proves outcomes are achievable with real-world results Expert quotes: Adds credibility when challenging assumptions or introducing new ideas Examples: Makes abstract concepts concrete and relatable 4. Structure Your Ideas in a Detailed Outline An outline organizes your ideas and insights into a clear structure before you start writing. It maps out the key sections you’ll cover, supporting evidence, and the order in which you’ll present your points. For example, here’s the outline I created for my Backlinko article on subdomains vs. subdirectories: I included a working headline, H2s, and main points. I also added my plans for information gain. This shows clients or employers how you’ll deliver unique value — and keeps you focused on differentiating your content from the start. To get started with your outline, think of your core argument: what’s the most important takeaway you want readers to leave with? From there, use the inverted pyramid to create an intuitive structure. Include the most important details at the start of every section, then layer additional context as you go. Pro tip: Save time with Semrush’s SEO Brief Generator. Add your topic and keywords, and it generates a solid outline instantly. From there, you can refine it with your own research and insights. 5. Develop Your Unique Writing Voice Two people can write about the same topic. But the one with a distinct voice is the one people quote, bookmark, and remember. Assess Your Writing Personality To define your writing personality, start by analyzing how you naturally communicate. Look at your emails, Slack messages, and social posts. Notice patterns in tone, humor, pacing, analogies, pop-culture references, or how often you use data and stats. Then, distill these insights into a few adjectives that describe how you want to sound. Like professional, insightful, and authoritative. Use these to guide your writing voice. For example, let’s say your adjectives are conversational, humorous, and authentic. Here’s how that might look in practice: Conversational: Short sentences with casual, relatable language. “Let’s be real — writing your first draft is 90% staring at a blinking cursor.” Humorous: Use wit or funny references to engage readers. Instead of “Most introductions are too long,” you might say, “Most intros drag on longer than a Marvel end-credit scene.” Authentic: Add stories from your lived experiences to make people feel seen. “When I first launched my blog, my mom was my only reader for six months.” Get Inspired by Your Favorite Writers To keep sharpening your voice, study writers you admire. Pay attention to their rhythm, tone, and structure. What terms do they use? How do they hold your attention — whether in a long-form blog post or a quick LinkedIn update? Borrow what works, then put your own spin on it so it still sounds like you. Adapt to Your Clients’ Voices As a content writer, clients and employers will often expect you to adapt your writing to their brand voice. This might mean adjusting your tone, pacing, or word choice to match their brand’s personality. Study a few of their blog posts or emails to understand their style. Note patterns in rhythm and vocabulary, and mirror those in your draft — without losing what makes your writing yours. AI tools can help you check how well your draft matches your client’s voice. Upload both the brand’s voice guidelines and your draft to an LLM and use this prompt: I’ve added the brand voice guidelines and my draft for this brand. Compare my draft against the guidelines and tell me: Where my tone, word choice, or style drifts away from the brand voice Specific sentences I should rewrite to better match the guidelines Suggestions for how to make the overall flow feel more consistent with the brand voice 6. Add Rich Media to Improve Scannability Even the best ideas lose impact when hidden behind walls of text. Plus, research shows that most people skim web pages. Their eyes dart to headlines, opening lines, and anything that stands out visually. That’s why adding visual breaks, such as images, screenshots, and tables, is so important. Visual content works well when you want to illustrate a point. It also simplifies or amplifies ideas that are hard to convey with text alone. As Chris Hanna, our senior editor, puts it: Often, words alone just won’t make full sense in the reader’s mind, or they won’t have the desired impact on their own. Anytime you’d personally prefer to see a visual explanation, it’s worth thinking about how you can convey it through visuals. If you can imagine watching a video on the topic you’re writing about, use that as your guide for how you could illustrate it with graphics. Here are a few places where infographics can supplement your writing: Comparisons: Tables or side-by-side visuals Frameworks and models: Diagrams or matrices Workflows and processes: Flowcharts or timelines Abstract concepts: Layered visuals (like Venn diagrams) At Backlinko, we track visual break density (VBD) — the ratio of visuals to text. Our goal is a visual break density of 12% or higher for every article. That’s about 12 visuals (images, GIFs, callout boxes, or tables) per 1,000 words to keep content easy to scan and engaging. Here’s how this looks in practice: We do this to improve the readability, retention, and engagement of our articles, from start to finish. 7. Understand How to Sell Through Your Content Every piece of content sells something — a product, a signup, a return visit. But good content doesn’t read like a pitch. It gently nudges people to take action by building trust and solving real problems. Lead with Value This is what Klaviyo, an email marketing platform, does through its blog content. They include helpful examples, original data, and actionable tips in their content writing. But they also weave in product mentions that feel helpful, not salesy. There are case studies, screenshots, and examples that show how real clients used their platform to increase revenue. This is smart for a few reasons. It proves their expertise, reinforces how their product solves real problems, and delivers value — even if the reader never becomes a customer. Focus on Outcomes, Not Features People don’t care what a company offers — they care what it helps them achieve. Features talk about what you offer. Outcomes show people how they can benefit. Here’s what this looks like in practice: Feature-driven writing Outcome-driven writing “Redesigned homepage using Figma and custom CSS” “After my redesign, load time dropped to 2 seconds and conversions jumped 40%. Here’s how I planned it.” “Our tool automates monthly reporting.” “One agency cut reporting time from 5 hours to 1 and reinvested those 4 hours into client growth. Let’s break down this workflow to help you achieve similar results.” Show people you understand their frustrations by baking their pain points into your content writing. When readers sense you’ve been in their shoes, they’re more open to your advice. Take this HubSpot CRM product page, for example. ​​It highlights real frustrations — setup hassles, messy migrations, lost data — the exact headaches their audience feels. Then, it shifts to outcomes with copy like “unified data” and higher productivity from “day one.” That’s outcome-driven content writing. It connects with the audience immediately and makes the benefits crystal clear. Share Your Firsthand Struggles Authority matters, but so does humility. Be honest about your wins and failures. It makes your content feel real. Here’s an example from one of my Backlinko articles where I shared my struggles with creating a social media calendar: I relate to the audience with language like “too many tabs” and “overwhelming categorization.” And provide a free calendar template so readers can apply what they learn. Pro tip: Free resources, such as tools, frameworks, and templates, make your content more actionable. Even a simple checklist or worksheet can help readers take the next step, and make your work far more memorable. 8. Finalize Your Work Here’s the truth: your first draft is never your best draft. Editing is where your content truly comes alive. Step Away from Your Draft One of the simplest editing tricks in the book? Give your draft some breathing room. Chris Shirlow, our senior content editor, explains why: Spend too much time in an article and you lose all perspective. Take a walk, sleep on it, or do something totally unrelated. When you come back, you’ll see what’s working — and what’s not — much more clearly. It may take a few rounds of editing and refining before you get everything just right: Round 1 (quick wins): Go through the article. Does it flow logically? Is it easy to understand? Do your examples clearly illustrate the core ideas? Round 2 (structure): Ask AI for editing feedback. What are you missing? Does the structure/writing flow naturally? Is there any room to add more value? Round 3 (polish): Tighten sentences, transitions, audience alignment, and examples Here’s a prompt you can use for Round 2: You are an expert editor specializing in long-form content writing. Please analyze my draft on the topic [ADD TOPIC] for its structure, flow, and reader experience. Specifically, give feedback and suggestions on: Structure: Are the sections ordered logically? Does each section build on the previous one? Depth and focus: Which parts feel under-explained or too detailed? How can I tighten or expand them to improve the flow? Reader journey: Where might readers drop off or lose context? Summarize your feedback into 3–5 actionable editing priorities. Pro tip: AI suggestions feel generic? Train the tool on your style first. Both Claude and ChatGPT let you upload writing samples and guidelines so their suggestions align with your voice. Prioritize Clarity Over Cleverness If your audience has to re-read a sentence to understand it, you’ve lost them. As Yongi Barnard, our senior content writer, says: A clever turn of phrase is nice, but the goal is for readers to understand your point immediately. Edit out any language that makes them pause to figure out what you mean. Take a quick litmus test: Is this sentence/phrase/word here because it helps my audience, or because I like how it sounds? You’ll know a sentence/phrase needs to be cut if it… Slows down the flow Makes the point harder to understand Is redundant Common issues in content writing (and how to fix them) include: Problem Areas Weak Example Strong Example Wordiness “At this point in time, in order to improve your rankings, you need to be focusing on the basics of SEO.” “To improve rankings, focus on SEO basics.” Jargon “We need to leverage synergies across verticals.” “We need different teams to work together.” Abstract Claims “Content quality is important for SEO success.” “Sites that publish in-depth content (2,000+ words) rank higher than thin pages.” Build Your Personal Editing Checklist Every writer has blind spots: repeated grammar errors, overused words, or formatting mistakes. That’s why Yongi suggests creating a personal editing checklist that includes common errors and recurring feedback from editors. Chris Hanna suggests going through the checklist before submitting your draft: Run a cmd+F (Mac) or CTRL+F (Windows) search in the doc each time. It’ll help you catch the most important but easy-to-fix errors. Over time, you’ll naturally make fewer mistakes. Here’s an editing checklist to get you started: The Self-Editing Checklist Big picture Does the piece serve the reader (not me)? Is the main takeaway crystal clear from the start? Does the flow make sense, with each section leading naturally to the next? Clarity and value Is every section genuinely useful, not filler? Did I back up claims with examples, data, or stories? Did I explain the ideas simply enough that my target readers would get it? Language and style Am I prioritizing clarity over cleverness? Are any sentences too long or clunky — could I cut or split them? Did I cut filler words (actually, very, really, in order to, due to the fact that)? Engagement Did I vary sentence lengths? Does the tone feel human — not robotic, not overly formal? Is there at least a touch of personality (humor, storytelling, relatability)? Polish Are transitions smooth between sections? Did I run a spell-check and grammar-check? Did I read it out loud (or edit bottom-up) to catch awkward phrasing? Did I run through my personal “repeat offender” list (words/phrases I overuse)? Final Pass Did I add relevant internal links? Does the article end with a clear, valuable takeaway? Did I include a natural next step (CTA, resource, or link) without sounding pushy? Pro tip: Use a free tool like Hemingway Editor to tighten your writing. It gives you a readability grade and highlights long sentences, passive voice, and other clarity issues. How to Become a Content Writer: A Quick Roadmap If you’re starting from scratch, don’t worry — every great content writer began exactly where you are. Here’s how to build momentum and get noticed. Find a Niche You’re Passionate About The fastest way to level up as a writer? Specialize. Niching down builds authority — and makes clients trust you faster. So, pick a niche (or two) and become an expert. A good niche checks three boxes: Passion: You care enough to keep learning and writing when it gets tough Potential: There’s growing demand for this information Profitability: Businesses invest in content on this topic Pro tip: Validate before you commit. Check job boards, freelance platforms, and brand blogs to see who’s hiring and publishing in that niche. If both interest and demand line up, you’ve found a winner. Build Expertise and Authority in Your Niche Once you pick a niche, become a trusted voice. This gives you multiple advantages: Traditional and AI search engines see your content as authoritative Readers are more likely to trust what you say Your content is more likely to be shared and quoted Start with what you know. Draw from your own experiences to add depth and credibility. For example, the travel writer India Amos built her authority by writing firsthand reviews. Her Business Insider piece about a ferry ride is grounded in real experience, making the content trustworthy and relatable. But don’t limit yourself to content writing for clients. Get your name out there. Contribute guest posts and expert quotes to reputable sites Speak at conferences or webinars Share insights on social media The more you’re cited as an expert, the stronger your credibility. Learn SEO Fundamentals SEO basics remain essential to content writing: keyword research, competitive analysis, and on-page optimization. But you’ll also want to know how to write and structure LLM-friendly content. YouTube videos, blogs, and courses can help you understand these topics quickly. It’s also helpful to familiarize yourself with popular SEO tools. Clients often expect you to know platforms like: Clearscope, Surfer SEO, MarketMuse: Content optimization and readability scoring Semrush, Ahrefs, Moz: Keyword research and competitive analysis Perplexity, ChatGPT, Gemini: AI search insight and prompt-based content discovery Pro tip: Consider pursuing niche-specific certifications to stand out. This is especially helpful in “Your Money or Your Life” (YMYL) fields like finance, health, or law, where expertise and trust matter most. Show Proof of Work with a Portfolio A portfolio showcases what you bring to the table and provides proof of your accomplishments as a writer. But you don’t have to spend weeks (or months) building one. What matters most is what’s inside your portfolio, such as: A short intro about who you are and what you offer Writing samples that showcase your expertise Testimonials or references Contact information Tools like Notion, Contra, Authory, and Bento let you design a portfolio in minutes. For instance, here’s my Authory portfolio: I like this platform because it automatically adds all articles credited to my name. You can also invest in a website for more control and search visibility. I did both — having a portfolio and website helps me improve my online visibility: LinkedIn can also double as your portfolio. Add details about each client and link to your articles in the “Experience” section of your profile. Share your on-the-job insights, feature testimonials, and engage in relevant conversations. And don’t forget to post your favorite work, from blog posts to copywriting. Unlike a static site, LinkedIn keeps you visible in real time. Future-Proof Your Content Writing Skills Use what you’ve learned here to create content that builds your reputation and lands clients. Because great content writing doesn’t just fill pages. It opens doors. And as AI continues to reshape the content world, the best writers don’t resist it — they evolve with it. So, don’t fear artificial intelligence as a writer. Use it to your advantage. Read our guide: How to Use AI to Create Exceptional Content. It’s packed with practical workflows, expert insights, and handy prompts that will help you work smarter and stay ahead. The post Content Writing 101: 8 Skills That Set Top Writers Apart appeared first on Backlinko. View the full article

On the first anniversary of the most destructive wildfires in the L.A. area, the scant home construction projects stand out among the still mostly flattened landscapes. Fewer than a dozen homes have been rebuilt in Los Angeles County since Jan. 7, 2025, when the Palisades and Eaton fires erupted, killing 31 people and destroying about 13,000 homes and other residential properties. For those who had insurance, it’s often not enough to cover the costs of construction. Relief organizations are stepping in to help, but progress is slow. Among the exceptions is Ted Koerner, whose Altadena home was reduced to ash and two chimneys. With his insurance payout tied up, the 67-year-old liquidated about 80% of his retirement holdings, secured contractors quickly, and moved decisively through the rebuilding process. Shortly before Thanksgiving, Koerner was among the first to finish a rebuild in the aftermath of the fires, which were fueled by drought and hurricane-force winds. But most do not have options like Koerner. The streets of the coastal community of Pacific Palisades and Altadena, a community in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, remain lined with dirt lots. In the seaside city of Malibu, foundations and concrete piles rising out of the sand are all that’s left of beachfront homes that once butted against crashing ocean waves. Neighborhoods are pitch black at night, with few streetlamps replaced. Even many homes that survived are not inhabited as families struggle to clear them of the fire’s toxic contaminants. Koerner was driven in part by fear that his beloved golden retriever, Daisy Mae, now 13 years old, might not live long enough to move into a new home, given the many months it can take to build even under the best circumstances. He also did not have to wait for his insurance payout to start construction. “That’s the only way we were going to get it done before all of a sudden my dog starts having labored breathing or something else happens,” Koerner said. Once construction began, his home was completed in just over four months. Daisy Mae is back lying in her favorite spot in the yard under a 175-year-old Heritage Oak. Koerner said he enjoys his morning coffee while watching her and it brings tears to his eyes. “We made it,” he said. Many fear they can’t afford to rebuild About 900 homes are under construction, potentially on pace to be completed later this year. Still, many homeowners are stuck as they figure out whether they can pay for the rebuilding process. Scores of residents have left their communities for good. More than 600 properties where a single-family home was destroyed in the wildfires have been sold, according to real estate data tracker Cotality. “We’re seeing huge gaps between the money insurance is paying out, to the extent we have insurance, and what it will actually cost to rebuild and/or remediate our homes,” said Joy Chen, executive director of the Eaton Fire Survivors Network, a group of 10,000 fire survivors mostly from Altadena. By December, less than 20% of people who experienced total home loss had closed out their insurance claims, according to a survey by the nonprofit Department of Angels. About one-third of insured respondents had policies with State Farm, the state’s largest private insurer, or the California FAIR plan, the insurer of last resort. They reported high rates of dissatisfaction with both, citing burdensome requirements, lowball estimates, and dealing with multiple adjusters. In November, Los Angeles County opened a civil investigation into State Farm’s practices and potential violations of the state’s Unfair Competition law. Chen said the group has seen a flurry of substantial payouts since then. Without answers from insurance, households can’t commit to rebuilding projects that can easily exceed $1 million. “They’re worried about getting started and running out of money,” Chen said. An uncertain future Jessica Rogers discovered only after the Palisades fire destroyed her home that her coverage had been canceled. The mother of two’s fallback was a low-interest loan from the Small Business Administration, but the application process was grueling. After losing her job because of the fire and then having her identity stolen, her approval for $550,000 came through last month. She is still weighing how she’ll cover the remaining costs and says she wonders: “Do I empty out my 401(k) and start counting every penny in a penny jar around the apartment?” Rogers — now executive director of the Pacific Palisades Long Term Recovery Group — estimates there are hundreds like her in Pacific Palisades who are “stuck dealing with FEMA and SBA and figuring out if we could piecemeal something together to build our homes.” Also struggling to return home are the community’s renters, condo owners, and mobile homeowners. Meanwhile, many are also dealing with their trauma. “It’s not what people talk about, but it is incredibly apparent and very real,” said Rogers, who still finds herself crying at unexpected moments. A slow start That so few homes have been rebuilt a year after the wildfires echoes the recovery pattern of a December 2021 blaze that erupted south of Boulder, Colorado, destroying more than 1,000 homes. “At the one-year mark, many lots had been cleared of debris and many residents had applied for building permits, said Andrew Rumbach, co-lead of the Climate and Communities Program at Urban Institute. “Around the 18-month mark is when you start to see really significant progress in terms of going from handfuls to hundreds” of homes rebuilt. Time will bring the scope of problems into focus. “You’re going to start to see some real inequality start to emerge where certain neighborhoods, certain types of people, certain types of properties are just lagging way far behind, and that becomes the really important question in the second year of a recovery: Who’s doing well and who is really struggling and why?” Rumbach said. That’s a key concern in Altadena, which for decades drew aspiring Black homeowners who otherwise faced redlining and other forms of racial discrimination when they sought to buy a home in other L.A.-area communities. In 2024, 81% of Black households in Altadena owned their homes, nearly twice the national Black homeownership rate. But recent research by UCLA’s Latino Policy & Politics Institute found that, as of August, 7 in 10 Altadena homeowners whose property was severely damaged in last year’s wildfire had not begun taking steps to rebuild or sell their home. Among these, Black homeowners were 73% more likely than others to have taken no action. Determined to rebuild Al and Charlotte Bailey have been living in an RV parked on the empty lot where their home once stood. The Baileys are paying for their rebuild with funds from their insurance payout and a loan. They’re also hoping to receive money from Southern California Edison. Several lawsuits claim its equipmentsparked the wildfire in Altadena. “We had been here for 41 years and raised our family here, and in one night it was all gone,” said Al Bailey, 77. “We decided that, whatever it’s going to cost, this is our community.” —Alex Veiga and Gabriela Aoun Angueira, Associated Press View the full article

The Tin Can phone is designed to be a simple and screen-free way for children to connect with friends and family. But since Christmas morning, when many families unwrapped and installed the retro, landline-style phones, network issues have left many users unable to make or receive calls. “Ultimately, Christmas Day overwhelmed us,” says Tin Can cofounder and CEO Chet Kittleson. “We spent months preparing for it, and we just didn’t get it all right.” Tin Can customers on social media including Reddit and Instagram have reported a variety of issues both making and receiving calls with the devices. Some new users also experienced trouble setting up their accounts and activating their phones, which is normally done using a parent’s smartphone. The setup issues have now been resolved, Kittleson says, but he confirms network instability following an unprecedented influx of new customers continues to make the phone service itself unreliable for many. “No matter how much you stress test and load test and all the rest, you just don’t know exactly how a service is going to perform under a new amount of pressure,” Kittleson says. “The growth we experienced literally within an hour was like nothing I’ve been through before.” Tin Can offers a free plan that enables calls to other Tin Can devices, as well as a paid “party line” plan that allows calls to and from ordinary phone numbers preapproved by a parent. All types of incoming and outgoing calls, including emergency calls to 911, are potentially affected by the network issues, Kittleson says. And while he declined to provide Fast Company with an estimate of when service will be fully restored—“I don’t want to overpromise and underdeliver”—the company has pledged not to charge paying customers until the network is reliable once more. Kittleson says his team is working around the clock to fix the issue, well-aware that the outage means children being unable to connect with friends and loved ones. Even his own family has had trouble with a Tin Can phone. The Tin Can devices, which connect via the internet rather than the traditional phone network, have been promoted as a way for children to be able to connect with friends and family as they did in the landline era. Kids can use the devices to stay connected without having to be equipped with their own smartphones or risk exposure to the spam and scam calls ubiquitous on other phones today. (Tin Can may soon face competition, with kids’ device maker Pinwheel on January 5 announcing plans to launch a similar device in April). The company has been updating customers on the issues via Instagram, email, and a status page, and social media feedback so far appears to be a mix of frustration and patient acceptance from fans of the device—or at least the concept. Many new customers who received Tin Can phones for the holidays likely have yet to build routines around the devices due to the outage, and the company has postponed shipping a next batch of phones until April, Kittleson says. He declined to specify how many new customers activated the devices over the holidays, though he says there were “a lot.” Tens of thousands of Tin Can devices used the network without a problem for 14 months prior to Christmas, according to the company. And while some customers are evidently frustrated, Kittleson is optimistic that fans will stick with the Tin Can product and service once the outage is resolved. “I think we have an audience that generally believes in the mission, believes in what we’re doing, and understands we just went through a pretty massive shift,” Kittleson says. “And they know that we’re working really, really hard to both let them know what’s going on and to resolve the issues.” View the full article

A reader writes: My company recently hired a new employee who has been a problem. We were hesitant to hire her to begin with — she didn’t have glowing recommendations and she’s got a patchy work history, but she has experience in the one thing we can’t train on right now, so we hired her reluctantly. It turns out she’s an over-sharer on social media: Every single detail of her day is listed in a giant personal social media post at least three or four times a day, and she tags everyone she comes in contact with: businesses, products, people. It’s unusual. She has been very opinionated about how we do things and doesn’t really want to participate in feedback or training. She goes home every day and writes a long, detailed post about who she interacted with, what she did all day, and her opinions about it and then tags her coworkers and our company. It’s borderline negative/critical of the company but really reflects more on her as a person and less on how we do things. I’m not sure if she realizes how it looks or if she’s just an over-sharer. We have a pretty straightforward social media policy: don’t tag us, don’t list us as your place of work, and don’t friend or interact with your managers on social media. We were clear on this policy when she was hired. I reminded her of the policy, and then I ended up tagged in one of her long, daily, detailed posts. HR then reminded her of the policy and not to tag or mention our company by name and to appropriately address needs, questions, and conflicts through the right channels. She then complained about that, with direct tags, on social media. Other than this glaring issue, the quality of her work is okay. It’s not stellar, and it’s not bad. But her attitude is a mess. I’m not sure if she’s a bad fit or if we need to give her more time. Her 30-day review is due next week. Would I be wrong to let her go and wish her well? I don’t want to put someone out of work if we don’t have to, but we have a great and positive team and wonderful rapport with customers that I don’t want to jeopardize. I answer this question over at Inc. today, where I’m revisiting letters that have been buried in the archives here from years ago (and sometimes updating/expanding my answers to them). You can read it here. The post new employee keeps tagging the company in negative social media posts appeared first on Ask a Manager. View the full article

Creating a staff training plan is crucial for improving employee skills and enhancing overall productivity. You’ll want to start by identifying training needs based on performance reviews and feedback. Once you have that information, setting clear, measurable objectives is fundamental. Afterward, you can design training modules that engage employees. But how do you guarantee these programs are effective and promote a culture of continuous learning? The following steps will guide you through the process. Key Takeaways Conduct a training needs analysis (TNA) to identify skill gaps and align training with organizational goals. Set SMART objectives to provide clear targets for training outcomes and ensure accountability. Design engaging training modules using diverse instructional methods and real-world scenarios for enhanced relevance. Allocate a dedicated budget for training resources, considering both direct and indirect costs. Evaluate training effectiveness through performance metrics and continuous feedback to foster ongoing learning and improvement. Understanding the Importance of Staff Training Plans Grasping the importance of staff training plans is crucial for any organization aiming to improve its overall performance. Developing a training program aligns employee skills with organizational goals, leading to improved productivity. When you know how to create a training program that meets your workforce’s needs, you cultivate engagement and satisfaction among employees, which contributes to a positive workplace culture. In addition, a well-structured training plan can markedly reduce employee turnover, showcasing your commitment to their development. Research indicates that organizations with effective training programs can see a return on investment of up to 34% in productivity increases. Moreover, developing a training plan for employees helps guarantee compliance with industry regulations and standards, lowering legal risks and maintaining quality assurance. Assessing Training Needs and Skill Gaps To effectively assess training needs and skill gaps within your organization, it’s essential to conduct a training needs analysis (TNA). Start by utilizing existing data sources like performance reviews and employee surveys to identify specific skill gaps. Engaging employees through interviews or focus groups can likewise provide insights into their perceived training needs and career aspirations. This information will help you create a relevant training plan. Next, perform a gap analysis to quantify the difference between current competencies and desired performance levels. This quantification enables you to prioritize training efforts based on their organizational impact. As you’re developing training plans for staff, remember to apply the SMART criteria—specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound—to define clear objectives that address the identified skill gaps. Finally, use a staff training schedule template to organize and implement your training initiatives effectively, ensuring alignment with overall business strategies. Setting Clear and Measurable Objectives How can you guarantee that your training programs yield the best possible results? Setting clear and measurable objectives is key. By using the SMART criteria—Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound—you create concrete goals that improve focus and accountability within your team. Research shows that clearly defined objectives can improve training outcomes by 25%. To assist you in this process, here’s a simple table outlining the elements of effective objectives: Element Description Specific Clearly define what you want to achieve. Measurable Include metrics to assess progress. Achievable Confirm goals are realistic and attainable. Relevant Align objectives with organizational goals. When you learn how to set up a training program with these elements, you’re effectively building a training plan that leads to success. Don’t forget to make a training schedule that reflects these objectives for continuous improvement. Designing Engaging Training Modules Effective training programs go beyond setting objectives; they likewise demand engaging content that captures and retains learners’ attention. To create a training plan, incorporate diverse instructional methods, such as videos, interactive quizzes, and hands-on activities, to cater to various learning styles. Real-world scenarios and case studies improve relevance, allowing employees to apply learned skills practically. When you learn how to make a training program, utilize visual aids like infographics and slideshows, as they can boost comprehension and retention considerably. Incorporating assessments and knowledge checks throughout the modules helps gauge perception and reinforces learning, making it easier to identify areas needing more focus. Finally, structure your modules with clear learning objectives and outcomes to guarantee employees know what they’re expected to achieve, aligning training with both personal and organizational goals. This approach will help when you figure out how to set up a training schedule that maximizes effectiveness. Choosing the Right Training Delivery Methods When you’re selecting training delivery methods, it’s crucial to weigh the benefits of in-person training, the flexibility of online learning, and the effectiveness of blended approaches. In-person sessions encourage immediate feedback and discussions, whereas online formats provide convenience and cater to diverse learning preferences. Blended learning, which combines both elements, not just improves engagement but additionally greatly boosts completion rates, making it a compelling option for your staff training plans. In-Person Training Benefits In-person training offers numerous advantages that can greatly improve the learning experience for employees. This method provides immediate feedback from instructors, nurturing real-time interaction that bolsters comprehension and retention of complex topics. By facilitating hands-on experience, in-person training enables employees to apply skills in a controlled environment, boosting their confidence in performing tasks. Furthermore, these sessions leverage group dynamics, encouraging teamwork and collaboration, which enhances communication skills and builds camaraderie among participants. The structured environment of in-person training minimizes distractions, allowing employees to focus entirely on the material. Studies show that in-person training sessions yield a 20% higher retention rate compared to online training, making them a valuable investment for organizations seeking effective skill development. Online Learning Flexibility How can online learning flexibility transform your training approach? By offering employees the chance to access training materials at their own pace, you can accommodate diverse schedules and learning preferences. Learning Management Systems (LMS) create a centralized platform for engagement, allowing employees to track progress and revisit content, which improves retention. Asynchronous online training promotes self-directed learning, enabling your team to absorb information when it best fits their work-life balance. Incorporating interactive elements, like quizzes and discussion forums, boosts engagement and encourages collaboration. Moreover, leveraging data-driven insights from performance metrics allows you to tailor online training programs, ensuring they meet the specific needs and learning styles of your workforce, ultimately enhancing training effectiveness. Blended Learning Approaches Blended learning approaches offer a strategic way to improve employee training by integrating both online and in-person methods. This combination allows for flexibility and caters to diverse learning styles, enhancing engagement and retention rates. Research shows that blended learning can boost learning outcomes by 50% compared to traditional methods, making it an effective strategy for development. With self-paced online modules, employees can learn at their convenience, whereas face-to-face sessions provide hands-on practice and immediate feedback. Organizations that use blended learning often report increased satisfaction and improved performance metrics, creating a more interactive environment. A successful program typically includes various instructional methods, such as video content, interactive simulations, and collaborative projects, keeping learners engaged and motivated throughout the training process. Allocating Resources for Training Implementation When allocating resources for training implementation, you need to establish a dedicated budget, typically between 1% to 5% of your total payroll, to cover vital materials and resources. Identifying the right personnel, such as trainers and subject-matter experts, is critical for effective knowledge transfer. During this process, it’s important to ensure that training spaces and equipment are ready for use. Budget Considerations for Training Allocating resources for training implementation is crucial for maximizing the effectiveness of your organization’s training initiatives. Aim to allocate about 1-3% of your total payroll budget to guarantee sufficient resources for employee development. When calculating your training budget, remember to take into account both direct costs, like training materials and instructor fees, and indirect costs, such as employee time away from work. To stretch your budget, utilize cost-effective training methods, including online courses and in-house workshops. Conduct a training needs analysis to pinpoint critical skills gaps, allowing you to focus funding on high-impact training initiatives aligned with your business goals. Regularly reviewing and adjusting the budget based on employee performance and feedback guarantees your resources meet evolving training needs effectively. Identifying Training Resources Identifying the right training resources is vital for implementing effective employee development programs. Start by allocating a dedicated budget that covers materials, trainers, and technology, guaranteeing alignment with your training objectives. Next, tap into internal resources by utilizing subject-matter experts within your organization; this can reduce costs and improve the relevance of your training. Don’t forget to leverage technology by selecting a Blackboard Learning Management System (LMS) that supports delivery and tracking, creating personalized learning experiences. Furthermore, assess the availability of external training vendors that can offer specialized content, complementing your in-house capabilities. Finally, establish a timeline for resource allocation with milestones to make sure all necessary resources are in place before the program launches, maximizing effectiveness. Scheduling and Time Management Effective scheduling and time management are crucial for the success of any training program. You should assess employee availability and peak work periods to minimize disruption during maximizing participation. Allocate sufficient time for each training module, as research shows that shorter, focused sessions improve retention and engagement. Utilize project management tools to create a detailed timeline for training implementation, ensuring visibility of milestones and deadlines. Offering multiple training formats, such as in-person, online, and hybrid, accommodates varying schedules and learning preferences. Finally, regularly review and adjust schedules based on employee feedback and performance metrics to improve the training program’s overall effectiveness. Key Considerations Actions Needed Assess Employee Availability Survey staff availability Allocate Training Time Schedule focused sessions Use Project Management Tools Create detailed timelines Provide Multiple Formats Offer in-person & online Review and Adjust Analyze feedback regularly Establishing a Timeline for Training Execution Creating a clear timeline for training execution is crucial to guaranteeing that your training program runs smoothly and meets its objectives. Start by determining the duration of each training module, aligning the overall program with organizational deadlines and employee availability. Set specific milestones within the timeline to track progress, which allows you to make timely adjustments if needed. Incorporate buffer periods to accommodate unforeseen delays or challenges, facilitating a smoother execution of the training plan. Regularly communicate this timeline to all stakeholders, including employees and trainers, to maintain transparency and accountability. This guarantees everyone stays informed and aligned with the training schedule. Utilizing project management tools or software can help you visualize the timeline effectively. These tools enable you to monitor the completion of training activities, guaranteeing a structured and organized approach to executing your training program, ultimately resulting in better outcomes for your organization. Evaluating the Effectiveness of Training Programs To evaluate the effectiveness of your training programs, you need to establish performance metrics that assess competency levels after training. Gathering feedback from participants and management can help identify improvements in performance and engagement, allowing for continuous improvement of your training initiatives. Furthermore, implementing strategies for ongoing assessment and follow-up, like refresher courses, can considerably boost knowledge retention and guarantee your training aligns with organizational goals. Performance Metrics Assessment When evaluating the effectiveness of training programs, it’s crucial to establish clear performance metrics that can be measured and analyzed. These metrics help you understand the impact of your training initiatives. Consider the following: Employee Performance: Measure improvements in productivity levels post-training to gauge success. Engagement Levels: Collect feedback and analyze participation rates to assess employee satisfaction with the training. Knowledge Retention: Track completion rates and assessment scores to identify areas needing further reinforcement. Continuous Improvement Strategies Continuous improvement is essential for evaluating the effectiveness of training programs, as it allows organizations to adapt and improve their offerings based on real-world feedback and results. Start by regularly collecting feedback through surveys and assessments to measure comprehension and satisfaction. Utilize performance metrics like employee productivity and skill application rates to assess training impact on job performance. Implement a Learning Management System (LMS) to track completion rates and progress, enabling data-driven decisions for future training needs. Conduct follow-up assessments post-training to gauge long-term retention and guarantee training objectives were met. Finally, cultivate a culture of continuous improvement by reviewing training content against industry standards and evolving organizational goals, ensuring your training program remains relevant and effective. Incorporating Feedback for Continuous Improvement Incorporating feedback into your training programs is crucial for identifying areas that need improvement and enhancing overall effectiveness. To achieve this, consider these strategies: Regular Feedback Collection: Use surveys, interviews, and assessments to gather input from participants on their experiences and learning outcomes. Data-Driven Insights: Analyze performance metrics and completion rates to adjust training content and delivery methods, ensuring they align with employee needs and expectations. Continuous Feedback Loop: Implement a system where feedback is regularly sought and integrated, which encourages employee engagement and promotes a culture of adaptability within your organization. Organizations that actively seek and incorporate feedback into their training programs often see higher employee satisfaction and retention rates. This approach not only improves individual performance but also contributes to the overall success of the organization, making it a crucial component of effective training plans. Fostering a Culture of Ongoing Learning and Development Nurturing a culture of ongoing learning and development is vital for organizations aiming to improve employee engagement and performance. Studies show that cultivating this culture can lead to a 37% increase in employee productivity and a 34% boost in retention rates. By prioritizing continuous learning, you’re making your organization 92% more likely to innovate and adapt to market changes. Moreover, employees who engage in ongoing development are five times more likely to be promoted, demonstrating a clear link between learning opportunities and career advancement. Investing in formal training programs can likewise yield a 24% increase in profit margins, emphasizing the financial benefits of employee growth. Since 70% of employees prefer self-directed learning through online courses, incorporating flexible learning options is fundamental for creating a successful learning-oriented environment. Frequently Asked Questions What Are the 5 Steps for Developing a Training Program? To develop a training program, start by identifying training needs through a thorough analysis of employee skills versus organizational goals. Next, set clear SMART objectives that guide your efforts. Then, select appropriate training methods that fit varied learning styles. After that, develop engaging content that includes visuals and practical examples. Finally, evaluate the program’s effectiveness using feedback, and revise as necessary to guarantee it meets the evolving needs of participants and the organization. How to Create a Staff Training Plan? To create a staff training plan, start by identifying skill gaps through a training needs analysis. Define clear, SMART objectives that align with your organization’s goals. Choose training methods that suit various learning styles, like workshops or online courses. Develop a structured timeline for training activities, including deadlines and resource allocation. Finally, implement feedback mechanisms to evaluate the effectiveness of the training and adjust the program as needed for continuous improvement. What Is the 70 20 10 Rule for Training? The 70-20-10 Rule for training suggests that 70% of learning comes from on-the-job experiences, 20% from social interactions, and just 10% from formal education. This model emphasizes practical experience, showing that active engagement with tasks and collaboration with peers boosts knowledge retention. Many organizations that implement this strategy see improvements in employee performance and overall engagement, nurturing a culture of continuous learning that benefits both individuals and the organization as a whole. What Are the 7 Steps to Create an Effective Training Program? To create an effective training program, start with a training needs analysis to pinpoint skill gaps. Set SMART objectives to guide your training content and measure success. Choose suitable methodologies, like workshops or online courses, based on employee preferences. Design engaging content using various formats to cater to different learning styles. Finally, implement evaluation mechanisms to assess effectiveness and adapt the program as organizational needs evolve. This structured approach improves overall training impact. Conclusion In summary, developing an effective staff training plan is essential for enhancing employee performance and aligning skills with organizational goals. By systematically evaluating training needs, setting clear objectives, and designing engaging modules, you can create a robust program. Remember to choose appropriate delivery methods, establish a timeline, and evaluate the training’s effectiveness. Incorporating feedback and promoting a culture of continuous learning will guarantee your training remains relevant, helping your team adapt to evolving challenges and improve overall productivity. Image via Google Gemini This article, "Step-by-Step Guide for Developing Staff Training Plans" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Creating a staff training plan is crucial for improving employee skills and enhancing overall productivity. You’ll want to start by identifying training needs based on performance reviews and feedback. Once you have that information, setting clear, measurable objectives is fundamental. Afterward, you can design training modules that engage employees. But how do you guarantee these programs are effective and promote a culture of continuous learning? The following steps will guide you through the process. Key Takeaways Conduct a training needs analysis (TNA) to identify skill gaps and align training with organizational goals. Set SMART objectives to provide clear targets for training outcomes and ensure accountability. Design engaging training modules using diverse instructional methods and real-world scenarios for enhanced relevance. Allocate a dedicated budget for training resources, considering both direct and indirect costs. Evaluate training effectiveness through performance metrics and continuous feedback to foster ongoing learning and improvement. Understanding the Importance of Staff Training Plans Grasping the importance of staff training plans is crucial for any organization aiming to improve its overall performance. Developing a training program aligns employee skills with organizational goals, leading to improved productivity. When you know how to create a training program that meets your workforce’s needs, you cultivate engagement and satisfaction among employees, which contributes to a positive workplace culture. In addition, a well-structured training plan can markedly reduce employee turnover, showcasing your commitment to their development. Research indicates that organizations with effective training programs can see a return on investment of up to 34% in productivity increases. Moreover, developing a training plan for employees helps guarantee compliance with industry regulations and standards, lowering legal risks and maintaining quality assurance. Assessing Training Needs and Skill Gaps To effectively assess training needs and skill gaps within your organization, it’s essential to conduct a training needs analysis (TNA). Start by utilizing existing data sources like performance reviews and employee surveys to identify specific skill gaps. Engaging employees through interviews or focus groups can likewise provide insights into their perceived training needs and career aspirations. This information will help you create a relevant training plan. Next, perform a gap analysis to quantify the difference between current competencies and desired performance levels. This quantification enables you to prioritize training efforts based on their organizational impact. As you’re developing training plans for staff, remember to apply the SMART criteria—specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound—to define clear objectives that address the identified skill gaps. Finally, use a staff training schedule template to organize and implement your training initiatives effectively, ensuring alignment with overall business strategies. Setting Clear and Measurable Objectives How can you guarantee that your training programs yield the best possible results? Setting clear and measurable objectives is key. By using the SMART criteria—Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound—you create concrete goals that improve focus and accountability within your team. Research shows that clearly defined objectives can improve training outcomes by 25%. To assist you in this process, here’s a simple table outlining the elements of effective objectives: Element Description Specific Clearly define what you want to achieve. Measurable Include metrics to assess progress. Achievable Confirm goals are realistic and attainable. Relevant Align objectives with organizational goals. When you learn how to set up a training program with these elements, you’re effectively building a training plan that leads to success. Don’t forget to make a training schedule that reflects these objectives for continuous improvement. Designing Engaging Training Modules Effective training programs go beyond setting objectives; they likewise demand engaging content that captures and retains learners’ attention. To create a training plan, incorporate diverse instructional methods, such as videos, interactive quizzes, and hands-on activities, to cater to various learning styles. Real-world scenarios and case studies improve relevance, allowing employees to apply learned skills practically. When you learn how to make a training program, utilize visual aids like infographics and slideshows, as they can boost comprehension and retention considerably. Incorporating assessments and knowledge checks throughout the modules helps gauge perception and reinforces learning, making it easier to identify areas needing more focus. Finally, structure your modules with clear learning objectives and outcomes to guarantee employees know what they’re expected to achieve, aligning training with both personal and organizational goals. This approach will help when you figure out how to set up a training schedule that maximizes effectiveness. Choosing the Right Training Delivery Methods When you’re selecting training delivery methods, it’s crucial to weigh the benefits of in-person training, the flexibility of online learning, and the effectiveness of blended approaches. In-person sessions encourage immediate feedback and discussions, whereas online formats provide convenience and cater to diverse learning preferences. Blended learning, which combines both elements, not just improves engagement but additionally greatly boosts completion rates, making it a compelling option for your staff training plans. In-Person Training Benefits In-person training offers numerous advantages that can greatly improve the learning experience for employees. This method provides immediate feedback from instructors, nurturing real-time interaction that bolsters comprehension and retention of complex topics. By facilitating hands-on experience, in-person training enables employees to apply skills in a controlled environment, boosting their confidence in performing tasks. Furthermore, these sessions leverage group dynamics, encouraging teamwork and collaboration, which enhances communication skills and builds camaraderie among participants. The structured environment of in-person training minimizes distractions, allowing employees to focus entirely on the material. Studies show that in-person training sessions yield a 20% higher retention rate compared to online training, making them a valuable investment for organizations seeking effective skill development. Online Learning Flexibility How can online learning flexibility transform your training approach? By offering employees the chance to access training materials at their own pace, you can accommodate diverse schedules and learning preferences. Learning Management Systems (LMS) create a centralized platform for engagement, allowing employees to track progress and revisit content, which improves retention. Asynchronous online training promotes self-directed learning, enabling your team to absorb information when it best fits their work-life balance. Incorporating interactive elements, like quizzes and discussion forums, boosts engagement and encourages collaboration. Moreover, leveraging data-driven insights from performance metrics allows you to tailor online training programs, ensuring they meet the specific needs and learning styles of your workforce, ultimately enhancing training effectiveness. Blended Learning Approaches Blended learning approaches offer a strategic way to improve employee training by integrating both online and in-person methods. This combination allows for flexibility and caters to diverse learning styles, enhancing engagement and retention rates. Research shows that blended learning can boost learning outcomes by 50% compared to traditional methods, making it an effective strategy for development. With self-paced online modules, employees can learn at their convenience, whereas face-to-face sessions provide hands-on practice and immediate feedback. Organizations that use blended learning often report increased satisfaction and improved performance metrics, creating a more interactive environment. A successful program typically includes various instructional methods, such as video content, interactive simulations, and collaborative projects, keeping learners engaged and motivated throughout the training process. Allocating Resources for Training Implementation When allocating resources for training implementation, you need to establish a dedicated budget, typically between 1% to 5% of your total payroll, to cover vital materials and resources. Identifying the right personnel, such as trainers and subject-matter experts, is critical for effective knowledge transfer. During this process, it’s important to ensure that training spaces and equipment are ready for use. Budget Considerations for Training Allocating resources for training implementation is crucial for maximizing the effectiveness of your organization’s training initiatives. Aim to allocate about 1-3% of your total payroll budget to guarantee sufficient resources for employee development. When calculating your training budget, remember to take into account both direct costs, like training materials and instructor fees, and indirect costs, such as employee time away from work. To stretch your budget, utilize cost-effective training methods, including online courses and in-house workshops. Conduct a training needs analysis to pinpoint critical skills gaps, allowing you to focus funding on high-impact training initiatives aligned with your business goals. Regularly reviewing and adjusting the budget based on employee performance and feedback guarantees your resources meet evolving training needs effectively. Identifying Training Resources Identifying the right training resources is vital for implementing effective employee development programs. Start by allocating a dedicated budget that covers materials, trainers, and technology, guaranteeing alignment with your training objectives. Next, tap into internal resources by utilizing subject-matter experts within your organization; this can reduce costs and improve the relevance of your training. Don’t forget to leverage technology by selecting a Blackboard Learning Management System (LMS) that supports delivery and tracking, creating personalized learning experiences. Furthermore, assess the availability of external training vendors that can offer specialized content, complementing your in-house capabilities. Finally, establish a timeline for resource allocation with milestones to make sure all necessary resources are in place before the program launches, maximizing effectiveness. Scheduling and Time Management Effective scheduling and time management are crucial for the success of any training program. You should assess employee availability and peak work periods to minimize disruption during maximizing participation. Allocate sufficient time for each training module, as research shows that shorter, focused sessions improve retention and engagement. Utilize project management tools to create a detailed timeline for training implementation, ensuring visibility of milestones and deadlines. Offering multiple training formats, such as in-person, online, and hybrid, accommodates varying schedules and learning preferences. Finally, regularly review and adjust schedules based on employee feedback and performance metrics to improve the training program’s overall effectiveness. Key Considerations Actions Needed Assess Employee Availability Survey staff availability Allocate Training Time Schedule focused sessions Use Project Management Tools Create detailed timelines Provide Multiple Formats Offer in-person & online Review and Adjust Analyze feedback regularly Establishing a Timeline for Training Execution Creating a clear timeline for training execution is crucial to guaranteeing that your training program runs smoothly and meets its objectives. Start by determining the duration of each training module, aligning the overall program with organizational deadlines and employee availability. Set specific milestones within the timeline to track progress, which allows you to make timely adjustments if needed. Incorporate buffer periods to accommodate unforeseen delays or challenges, facilitating a smoother execution of the training plan. Regularly communicate this timeline to all stakeholders, including employees and trainers, to maintain transparency and accountability. This guarantees everyone stays informed and aligned with the training schedule. Utilizing project management tools or software can help you visualize the timeline effectively. These tools enable you to monitor the completion of training activities, guaranteeing a structured and organized approach to executing your training program, ultimately resulting in better outcomes for your organization. Evaluating the Effectiveness of Training Programs To evaluate the effectiveness of your training programs, you need to establish performance metrics that assess competency levels after training. Gathering feedback from participants and management can help identify improvements in performance and engagement, allowing for continuous improvement of your training initiatives. Furthermore, implementing strategies for ongoing assessment and follow-up, like refresher courses, can considerably boost knowledge retention and guarantee your training aligns with organizational goals. Performance Metrics Assessment When evaluating the effectiveness of training programs, it’s crucial to establish clear performance metrics that can be measured and analyzed. These metrics help you understand the impact of your training initiatives. Consider the following: Employee Performance: Measure improvements in productivity levels post-training to gauge success. Engagement Levels: Collect feedback and analyze participation rates to assess employee satisfaction with the training. Knowledge Retention: Track completion rates and assessment scores to identify areas needing further reinforcement. Continuous Improvement Strategies Continuous improvement is essential for evaluating the effectiveness of training programs, as it allows organizations to adapt and improve their offerings based on real-world feedback and results. Start by regularly collecting feedback through surveys and assessments to measure comprehension and satisfaction. Utilize performance metrics like employee productivity and skill application rates to assess training impact on job performance. Implement a Learning Management System (LMS) to track completion rates and progress, enabling data-driven decisions for future training needs. Conduct follow-up assessments post-training to gauge long-term retention and guarantee training objectives were met. Finally, cultivate a culture of continuous improvement by reviewing training content against industry standards and evolving organizational goals, ensuring your training program remains relevant and effective. Incorporating Feedback for Continuous Improvement Incorporating feedback into your training programs is crucial for identifying areas that need improvement and enhancing overall effectiveness. To achieve this, consider these strategies: Regular Feedback Collection: Use surveys, interviews, and assessments to gather input from participants on their experiences and learning outcomes. Data-Driven Insights: Analyze performance metrics and completion rates to adjust training content and delivery methods, ensuring they align with employee needs and expectations. Continuous Feedback Loop: Implement a system where feedback is regularly sought and integrated, which encourages employee engagement and promotes a culture of adaptability within your organization. Organizations that actively seek and incorporate feedback into their training programs often see higher employee satisfaction and retention rates. This approach not only improves individual performance but also contributes to the overall success of the organization, making it a crucial component of effective training plans. Fostering a Culture of Ongoing Learning and Development Nurturing a culture of ongoing learning and development is vital for organizations aiming to improve employee engagement and performance. Studies show that cultivating this culture can lead to a 37% increase in employee productivity and a 34% boost in retention rates. By prioritizing continuous learning, you’re making your organization 92% more likely to innovate and adapt to market changes. Moreover, employees who engage in ongoing development are five times more likely to be promoted, demonstrating a clear link between learning opportunities and career advancement. Investing in formal training programs can likewise yield a 24% increase in profit margins, emphasizing the financial benefits of employee growth. Since 70% of employees prefer self-directed learning through online courses, incorporating flexible learning options is fundamental for creating a successful learning-oriented environment. Frequently Asked Questions What Are the 5 Steps for Developing a Training Program? To develop a training program, start by identifying training needs through a thorough analysis of employee skills versus organizational goals. Next, set clear SMART objectives that guide your efforts. Then, select appropriate training methods that fit varied learning styles. After that, develop engaging content that includes visuals and practical examples. Finally, evaluate the program’s effectiveness using feedback, and revise as necessary to guarantee it meets the evolving needs of participants and the organization. How to Create a Staff Training Plan? To create a staff training plan, start by identifying skill gaps through a training needs analysis. Define clear, SMART objectives that align with your organization’s goals. Choose training methods that suit various learning styles, like workshops or online courses. Develop a structured timeline for training activities, including deadlines and resource allocation. Finally, implement feedback mechanisms to evaluate the effectiveness of the training and adjust the program as needed for continuous improvement. What Is the 70 20 10 Rule for Training? The 70-20-10 Rule for training suggests that 70% of learning comes from on-the-job experiences, 20% from social interactions, and just 10% from formal education. This model emphasizes practical experience, showing that active engagement with tasks and collaboration with peers boosts knowledge retention. Many organizations that implement this strategy see improvements in employee performance and overall engagement, nurturing a culture of continuous learning that benefits both individuals and the organization as a whole. What Are the 7 Steps to Create an Effective Training Program? To create an effective training program, start with a training needs analysis to pinpoint skill gaps. Set SMART objectives to guide your training content and measure success. Choose suitable methodologies, like workshops or online courses, based on employee preferences. Design engaging content using various formats to cater to different learning styles. Finally, implement evaluation mechanisms to assess effectiveness and adapt the program as organizational needs evolve. This structured approach improves overall training impact. Conclusion In summary, developing an effective staff training plan is essential for enhancing employee performance and aligning skills with organizational goals. By systematically evaluating training needs, setting clear objectives, and designing engaging modules, you can create a robust program. Remember to choose appropriate delivery methods, establish a timeline, and evaluate the training’s effectiveness. Incorporating feedback and promoting a culture of continuous learning will guarantee your training remains relevant, helping your team adapt to evolving challenges and improve overall productivity. Image via Google Gemini This article, "Step-by-Step Guide for Developing Staff Training Plans" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Like many parents, sometimes I view my kids as lazy. This was one of those times: At Orlando International Airport, on our way to Disney World, my 16-year-old daughter shared how much she wanted a rideable suitcase. I laughed and told her that she can walk just fine. "Besides," I added, "that would never work." I hadn't seen rideable luggage yet, and I pointed out the immediate detractions that came to mind. First, it wouldn't work for someone like me—6'3 and 215 pounds. Second, I had doubts that it would have much storage space to carry items, which is the whole point of luggage. And third, who would be caught dead riding something so silly? But my daughter was determined to prove to me not only that they exist, but that they're popular. She showed me videos of them in action. I wasn't convinced. We joked about rideable luggage as we walked through the airport. It came up again as we trekked through Disney World. ("See, if we had rideable luggage, we wouldn't be so tired.") By the time we walked to baggage claim after returning to LaGuardia, it was a running gag. That same week, as I prepared for CES, I looked into rideable suitcases and made plans to test them out at the show. And as it turns out, my daughter was right. At CES, I tried several rideable suitcases, putting my bulky 6'3, 215-pound frame on motorized, battery-powered, airplane cabin-sized bags. The best I rode came from Jitlife, which is premiering its fourth model, the Jitlife JS07i, this year. Not only did it impress, but it's also one of the finalists for the official Best of CES 2026 awards for the travel category. Like all the suitcases I drove, the Jitlife rideable suitcase is the size of a standard cabin bag but can carry up to 250 pounds, has a maximum speed of around 8 miles per hour, and can travel about six miles on a charge. The suitcase has a capacity of 28 liters, which is indeed much less than the 60-80 liters of space I expect from a standard check-in bag, but it's better than I thought for something that weighs under 20 pounds and can carry me around. Overall, the kid was right: Rideable luggage can work, and it's actually already a fairly common sight in Asia, particularly in China. As for looking goofy riding one, well, I believe my point stands. But, for those with accessibility needs, younger children, or people who prioritize its functionality over the judgment of strangers, rideable luggage might be a worthwhile solution for moving through large airports more quickly and easily. Testing it out is certainly the most fun I've had at CES, so whatever the future of rideable luggage, I'll live with the "I told you so" from my kid. View the full article

As 2025 finishes its final act, Meta has spotlighted a year filled with transformative advances and innovations that may shape the future landscape of small businesses. From AI breakthroughs to the launch of cutting-edge products, these developments could offer valuable tools for entrepreneurs looking to navigate a rapidly evolving market. Meta introduced the Meta AI app, a personalized assistant designed to help users solve problems efficiently. Powered by Llama 4, this app has potential for small business owners, offering a practical solution for managing daily tasks or meeting customer needs. “We want to empower people to live more meaningful, connected lives,” said Mark Zuckerberg in reference to their vision for personal superintelligence, indicating that such tools might be integrated into various facets of life, including entrepreneurship. The company’s Llama AI model reached 1 billion downloads, enabling developers worldwide to leverage this technology across various sectors. Small business owners could harness Llama for tasks in national security, healthcare, or agriculture, enhancing their operational capacity and innovative potential. The focus on open-source technology allows for customization that can be a game-changer for niche markets. In a remarkable leap toward operational efficiency, Meta announced the opening of three new AI-optimized data centers. This infrastructure expansion aims to balance the growing demands of AI workloads while enhancing the speed and reliability of data processing. For small businesses, partnering with services backed by such infrastructure might enhance service offerings, increasing uptime and customer satisfaction. Meanwhile, the tech giant ventured into the world of wearable technology with its new Meta Ray-Ban Display AI glasses. Featuring a high-resolution display and an EMG wristband that translates muscle signals into commands, these glasses promise to add a layer of convenience and accessibility. These features may not only appeal to individual consumers but also find applications in professional environments. Owners of retail or service businesses can utilize these advanced glasses for staff training or operational management while promoting styles that resonate with their customer demographics. Despite these advancements, small business owners should consider some potential challenges. The initial investment in AI infrastructure or wearable technology may come with financial constraints. There is also the hurdle of tech adoption; not all business owners may feel equipped to implement new technology smoothly, leading to operational disruption. Thus, adequate training for staff and setting achievable milestones will be integral in successfully integrating these innovations. Meta also highlighted measures aimed at improving online safety for teens, allowing business owners serving younger demographics a chance to harness safer experiences on their platforms. The rollout of Teen Accounts and enhanced content management for teenagers could impact how brands engage with this age group. Adjusting marketing strategies to ensure alignment with these protective measures may foster a brand image that prioritizes customer well-being. Additionally, Meta’s commitment to sustainability through its nuclear energy initiatives and economic contributions via data centers presents a dual benefit for small businesses keen on eco-friendly practices. Utilizing products from a company that aligns with sustainability could enhance brand reputation among environmentally conscious consumers. As Meta pivots into 2026, the blueprint it lays out today holds immense potential for the small business community. Whether it’s through adopting new AI tools that streamline operations, embracing wearable tech that enhances customer interaction, or addressing the challenges of a digital landscape, the innovations from this tech titan are poised to impact small business owners significantly. For more detailed information, you may visit the original press release from Meta at this link. Image via Google Gemini This article, "Meta Unveils Groundbreaking AI Innovations and Enhancements for Teens" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

As 2025 finishes its final act, Meta has spotlighted a year filled with transformative advances and innovations that may shape the future landscape of small businesses. From AI breakthroughs to the launch of cutting-edge products, these developments could offer valuable tools for entrepreneurs looking to navigate a rapidly evolving market. Meta introduced the Meta AI app, a personalized assistant designed to help users solve problems efficiently. Powered by Llama 4, this app has potential for small business owners, offering a practical solution for managing daily tasks or meeting customer needs. “We want to empower people to live more meaningful, connected lives,” said Mark Zuckerberg in reference to their vision for personal superintelligence, indicating that such tools might be integrated into various facets of life, including entrepreneurship. The company’s Llama AI model reached 1 billion downloads, enabling developers worldwide to leverage this technology across various sectors. Small business owners could harness Llama for tasks in national security, healthcare, or agriculture, enhancing their operational capacity and innovative potential. The focus on open-source technology allows for customization that can be a game-changer for niche markets. In a remarkable leap toward operational efficiency, Meta announced the opening of three new AI-optimized data centers. This infrastructure expansion aims to balance the growing demands of AI workloads while enhancing the speed and reliability of data processing. For small businesses, partnering with services backed by such infrastructure might enhance service offerings, increasing uptime and customer satisfaction. Meanwhile, the tech giant ventured into the world of wearable technology with its new Meta Ray-Ban Display AI glasses. Featuring a high-resolution display and an EMG wristband that translates muscle signals into commands, these glasses promise to add a layer of convenience and accessibility. These features may not only appeal to individual consumers but also find applications in professional environments. Owners of retail or service businesses can utilize these advanced glasses for staff training or operational management while promoting styles that resonate with their customer demographics. Despite these advancements, small business owners should consider some potential challenges. The initial investment in AI infrastructure or wearable technology may come with financial constraints. There is also the hurdle of tech adoption; not all business owners may feel equipped to implement new technology smoothly, leading to operational disruption. Thus, adequate training for staff and setting achievable milestones will be integral in successfully integrating these innovations. Meta also highlighted measures aimed at improving online safety for teens, allowing business owners serving younger demographics a chance to harness safer experiences on their platforms. The rollout of Teen Accounts and enhanced content management for teenagers could impact how brands engage with this age group. Adjusting marketing strategies to ensure alignment with these protective measures may foster a brand image that prioritizes customer well-being. Additionally, Meta’s commitment to sustainability through its nuclear energy initiatives and economic contributions via data centers presents a dual benefit for small businesses keen on eco-friendly practices. Utilizing products from a company that aligns with sustainability could enhance brand reputation among environmentally conscious consumers. As Meta pivots into 2026, the blueprint it lays out today holds immense potential for the small business community. Whether it’s through adopting new AI tools that streamline operations, embracing wearable tech that enhances customer interaction, or addressing the challenges of a digital landscape, the innovations from this tech titan are poised to impact small business owners significantly. For more detailed information, you may visit the original press release from Meta at this link. Image via Google Gemini This article, "Meta Unveils Groundbreaking AI Innovations and Enhancements for Teens" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

In a vision of the near future shared at CES, a girl slides into the back seat of her parents’ car and the cabin instantly comes alive. The vehicle recognizes her, knows it’s her birthday and cues up her favorite song without a word spoken. “Think of the car as having a soul and being an extension of your family,” Sri Subramanian, Nvidia’s global head of generative AI for automotive, said Tuesday. Subramanian’s example, shared with a CES audience on the show’s opening day in Las Vegas, illustrates the growing sophistication of AI-powered in-cabin systems and the expanding scope of personal data that smart vehicles may collect, retain, and use to shape the driving experience. Across the show floor, the car emerged less as a machine and more as a companion as automakers and tech companies showcased vehicles that can adapt to drivers and passengers in real time — from tracking heart rates and emotions to alerting if a baby or young child is accidentally left in the car. Bosch debuted its new AI vehicle extension that aims to turn the cabin into a “proactive companion.” Nvidia, the poster child of the AI boom, announced Alpamayo, its new vehicle AI initiative designed to help autonomous cars think through complex driving decisions. CEO Jensen Huang called it a “ChatGPT moment for physical AI.” But experts say the push toward a more personalized driving experience is intensifying questions about how much driver data is being collected. “The magic of AI should not just mean all privacy and security protections are off,” said Justin Brookman, director of marketplace policy at Consumer Reports. Unlike smartphones or online platforms, cars have only recently become major repositories of personal data, Brookman said. As a result, the industry is still trying to establish the “rules of the road” for what automakers and tech companies are allowed to do with driver data. That uncertainty is compounded by the uniquely personal nature of cars, Brookman said. Many people see their vehicles as an extension of themselves — or even their homes — which he said can make the presence of cameras, microphones, and other monitoring tools feel especially invasive. “Sometimes privacy issues are difficult for folks to internalize,” he said. “People generally feel they wish they had more privacy but also don’t necessarily know what they can do to address it.” At the same time, Brookman said, many of these technologies offer real safety benefits for drivers and can be good for the consumer. On the CES show floor, some of those conveniences were on display at automotive supplier Gentex’s booth, where attendees sat in a mock six-seater van in front of large screens demonstrating how closely the company’s AI-equipped sensors and cameras could monitor a driver and passengers. “Are they sleepy? Are they drowsy? Are they not seated properly? Are they eating, talking on phones? Are they angry? You name it, we can figure out how to detect that in the cabin,” said Brian Brackenbury, director of product line management at Gentex. Brackenbury said it’s ultimately up to the car manufacturers to decide how the vehicle reacts to the data that’s collected, which he said is stored in the car and deleted after the video frames, for example, have been processed. “ “One of the mantras we have at Gentex is we’re not going to do it just because we can, just because the technology allows it,” Brackebury said, adding that “data privacy is really important.” —Rio Yamat, AP airlines and travel writer View the full article

Signs of weakening jobs growth begin to emerge. By CPA Trendlines Go PRO for members-only access to more CPA Trendlines Research. View the full article

Signs of weakening jobs growth begin to emerge. By CPA Trendlines Go PRO for members-only access to more CPA Trendlines Research. View the full article

The 2026 filing season will have an increasingly uneven pricing structure. By CPA Trendlines JOIN the Busy Season Barometer survey. Get the results. Go PRO for members-only access to more CPA Trendlines Research. View the full article

The 2026 filing season will have an increasingly uneven pricing structure. By CPA Trendlines JOIN the Busy Season Barometer survey. Get the results. Go PRO for members-only access to more CPA Trendlines Research. View the full article

If you’re not the best, what are you? By August Aquila MAX: Maximize Productivity, Profitability and Client Retention Go PRO for members-only access to more August J. Aquila. View the full article

If you’re not the best, what are you? By August Aquila MAX: Maximize Productivity, Profitability and Client Retention Go PRO for members-only access to more August J. Aquila. View the full article