Step 1 of 4
Just starting
Your first 24 hours with Clipflow
The exact order of operations that gets your first clips scheduled by tomorrow.
What this guide covers
- 01What you need before you start
- 02Step 1 — Connect your AI provider (2 minutes)
- 03Step 2 — Import your first video (1 minute)
- 04Step 3 — Generate your first drafts (30 seconds)
- 05Step 4 — Train your Brand Voice (15 minutes, most important)
- 06Step 5 — Review and approve (10 minutes)
- 07Step 6 — Schedule or post manually
- 08What to do tomorrow
Jump to section
- 01What you need before you start
- 02Step 1 — Connect your AI provider (2 minutes)
- 03Step 2 — Import your first video (1 minute)
- 04Step 3 — Generate your first drafts (30 seconds)
- 05Step 4 — Train your Brand Voice (15 minutes, most important)
- 06Step 5 — Review and approve (10 minutes)
- 07Step 6 — Schedule or post manually
- 08What to do tomorrow
What you need before you start
Clipflow is a BYOK (bring-your-own-keys) product — we do not resell AI tokens. Before you import your first video, you need two things: one AI provider key for generation, and one Upload-Post key if you want to schedule auto-publishing. That is it. You can skip scheduling on day one and add it later.
Accounts to have ready
- An OpenAI, Anthropic, or Google API key (any one works)
- (optional) An Upload-Post account for auto-publishing — free tier covers 10 posts/month
- (optional) A Shotstack key if you want MP4 renders with subtitles + brand kit burned in
- One long-form recording to import — podcast, Loom, Zoom, or 10+ minute reflection
Step 1 — Connect your AI provider (2 minutes)
Open Settings → AI Keys. Click the provider you already have an account with — OpenAI, Anthropic, or Google. Paste your API key. Done.
Step 2 — Import your first video (1 minute)
Click + New content top-left, or land on the workflow home (Step 1 — Import). One Smart-Import box accepts everything: drop an MP4, paste a YouTube link, paste a website URL, paste an RSS feed, or type raw text. Clipflow auto-detects the source, no per-format tabs to pick.
- Upload or link your longest-form recording — the clip finder needs raw material
- Pick a recording where you talk naturally, not a prepared script
- If using YouTube, make sure transcripts are available on the video
- Do not import a 60-second vertical video — there is nothing to clip from
- Do not paste incomplete transcripts — broken timestamps hurt clip ranking
- Do not upload private recordings you have not reviewed — AI sees everything
Step 3 — Generate your first drafts (30 seconds)
Once the content status turns "Ready" (transcript present), click Generate. Clipflow produces four drafts in parallel: one TikTok, one Instagram, one YouTube Shorts, one LinkedIn. All four appear in your Drafts board within roughly 30 seconds.
Open the content you just imported
Click the card from the library. You will see the transcript + a big "Generate drafts" CTA once it is ready.
Hit Generate
Clipflow runs four AI calls in parallel, one per platform. Watch the "Generating..." indicators tick through.
Review the output in Drafts
Click step 5 (Approve) on the workflow stepper — that opens the cross-video drafts board. Four fresh drafts ready for review, each card shows the caption, platform, and a virality-like ranking signal. The stepper is clickable end-to-end so you can jump straight there from any step.
Step 4 — Train your Brand Voice (15 minutes, most important)
This is the step most users skip and then wonder why the AI sounds generic. Settings → Brand Voice. Fill in three fields: tone, words to avoid, example hook. Specificity matters more than length — one sentence of detail beats a paragraph of vagueness.
Boost your engagement with these actionable tips that will help you grow your audience! What are your thoughts? 💪🚀
Reads like every other tool
Nobody told me the algorithm doesn't care about effort — only about the first 3 seconds. Here's the fix that actually works:
First-person, contractions, specific
Example Tone field
I write in first person, use em-dashes instead of commas for pacing, never start sentences with 'So,' and always end short-form posts with a specific action — not an engagement question.
Friendly, professional, approachable.
After saving, jump back via step 5 (Approve) on the workflow stepper, select all four drafts, and click Bulk regenerate. The new drafts will be noticeably closer to how you actually write. If they are not, the Brand Voice copy is too vague — rewrite it more specifically.
Step 5 — Review and approve (10 minutes)
On the Drafts board (workflow step 5 — Approve), read each draft. Minor edit: click inline and retype. Major miss: click Regenerate for a single-platform retry. Happy with it: swipe it right to Approved.
Step 6 — Schedule or post manually
If you have Upload-Post connected, click step 6 (Schedule) on the workflow stepper, drag your Approved drafts onto the calendar, set a time, done. If not, click Export on each draft — you will get a clean caption + any rendered assets to paste into each platform manually.
What to do tomorrow
You now have a working pipeline. The next 6 days compound — not by adding more tools, but by refining the voice and the cadence.
Week 1 calendar
- Day 2: Import another recording. Do NOT re-tune brand voice yet — you need more data points first.
- Day 3: Review yesterday’s posts. Which hook got the most watch-through? Update your example hook in Brand Voice.
- Day 4: Try the A/B Hook Testing feature on your next draft. Pick the winner, ship it.
- Day 5: Generate a thumbnail for your YouTube post via Thumbnail Studio.
- Day 7: Review what worked. If the output still sounds off, the Brand Voice settings are still too vague — get more specific.
Try this workflow on your next recording.
Free tier, no credit card. Your first draft lands in about two minutes.
Start free on Clipflow