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9 February 2025 | Issue #81

In this issue:

• What if Pinterest is the answer?
• Build confidence in your UX portfolio
• AI video maker by Descript
• What's more important, outcomes or quality?
• Design Quote of the Week

What if Pinterest is the answer?

The question would be, "What is an underutilized resource for marketing and sales?"

At CES a couple of weeks ago, AdExchanger caught up with Pinterest's chief revenue officer, Bill Watkins. Pinterest is throwing down the gauntlet and declaring that it is bridging the gap between discovery and purchase.

This is something that we're all trying to improve.

In the interview, Watkins says that Pinterest is serving up more lower-funnel content to drive conversions and purchases. A few years ago, Pinterest's revenue was mostly upper-funnel. But now, they see more companies expanding their spend on content that can help close the deal.

I know I've made a goal to spend more time and effort on Pinterest marketing this year. In the past, it was a good showcase for work I had created. I still get regular emails from the social network telling me how well my pins are performing. Now, it can be used for so much more and I look forward to seeing how it works out.

NEWS AT THE INTERSECTION OF MARKETING, DESIGN, & AI

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💪 Build Confidence in Your UX Design Portfolio: How to Overcome Impostor Syndrome

The Interaction Design Foundation addresses the common challenge of self-doubt among designers and offers strategies to enhance confidence in one’s portfolio.

Key Strategies:

• Acknowledge Impostor Feelings: Recognize and identify signs of impostor syndrome, such as self-doubt and fear of judgment, to address them effectively.

• Curate a Strong Portfolio: Focus on showcasing quality work, tell a compelling story of your design process, and quantify the impact of your designs to build confidence.

• Seek Constructive Feedback: Engage with peers and mentors to gain insights and perspectives that can help improve your work and self-assurance.

• Build a Supportive Network: Connect with other designers to share experiences and find mentorship, fostering a sense of community and support.

• Practice Self-Compassion: Celebrate small wins, set realistic goals, and view challenges as opportunities for growth to maintain a positive mindset.

• My Take: It's hard out there. If you're trying to break in or get back into the industry, keep going. Find ways to stand out and offer something the hiring manager hasn't seen before. You need the standard stuff, but at least one aspect of your portfolio should be cutting edge.

​Keep reading​

📽️ AI Video Maker by Descript

Descript’s AI Video Maker simplifies explainer video creation by combining AI-generated scripts, voiceovers, and visuals into a streamlined workflow.

• Instant Script and Voiceover Creation: Users can generate scripts with GPT and apply AI-powered text-to-speech narration for a polished result.

• Customizable Visual Styles: Offers various AI-generated art styles like Whiteboard Doodles and Low Polygon 3D to match different storytelling needs.

• My Take: I'm planning on trying this out over the weekend. As a Descript subscriber, I have high hopes.

​Keep reading​

👋 Goodbye, Outcomes Era: Why Quality Will Define The Industry’s Future

Erez Levin argues that digital advertising must shift from outcome-based metrics to prioritizing quality to ensure genuine engagement and long-term success.

• The Problem with Outcomes-Based Metrics: Many current digital advertising metrics are easily manipulated, leading to misleading performance indicators and low-quality inventory.

• A New Focus on Quality: Levin advocates for industry-wide adoption of quality-driven metrics that prioritize authentic engagement over short-term results.

• My Take: In some ways, he's right. Everything has been metric based for a long time, thus leading everyone to do the same thing because "it works." Making something high quality should perform better.

​Keep reading​

NEW RESOURCES FOR YOU

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Audacious book launch live stream

Last week I read Audacious in two days. It's the type of book that keeps you engaged while it tells you how to stand out.

I'm looking forward to Mark Schaefer talking about his new book Audacious with Marc Simons of Giant Spoon and Douglas Burdett, the retired host of one of my favorite podcasts, The Marketing Book Podcast.

The Visual Marketer – Coming Soon!

Design Quote of the Week

“You can’t do better design with a computer, but you can speed up your work enormously.”
– Wim Crouwel

My AI disclaimer: I write the main stories by hand (with occasional assistance from Grammarly). I find the news stories and the writeup is by ChatGPT. I write the My Takes bullet. If AI generates the images, I include the prompt so you can see how I got to that image. Nothing in this newsletter, or anything I publish anywhere, reflects the views of my employer.

Thanks for reading!

–Jim

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