A long list of marketing tools can make it feel as though you need to learn everything before applying for an internship. You don't. A small campaign you can explain is a better place to start.
Choose a real or fictional business, define its audience and build a few useful pieces of work. Add tools when you reach a task they can help with.
This list covers 25 starting points for research, writing, design, advertising and measurement. Some are AI products; others provide the data or publishing tools you'll use alongside them. Features and plan limits vary, so check what's available on your account before paying.
Research and planning
1. ChatGPT
Use ChatGPT to turn rough notes into a campaign outline or explore different ways to explain an offer. Supply the audience, product details and constraints. Compare the draft with the brief, and verify any facts before using them in public copy.
2. Claude
Claude is another option for working through notes and drafting content. Try giving it the same brief and asking where the message is unclear. Judge the suggestions by whether they help a reader understand the offer.
3. Perplexity
Perplexity can help you find sources while researching a topic. Open the cited pages and check their dates before using a claim. Keep a note of the original source so you can trace a statistic later.
4. Google Search Console
Search Console shows queries and pages appearing in Google Search for a site you can access. Start by comparing impressions and clicks for a few pages. If you don't have access to a site yet, learn the reports without inventing results for your portfolio.
5. Semrush
Use Semrush to practise keyword research and compare the topics competitors cover. Choose one page and explain which search need it should answer. Treat third-party traffic and search-volume figures as estimates.
6. Ahrefs
Ahrefs is another option for keyword, backlink and competitor research. Try investigating why a page attracts links and which of its ideas are useful to readers. You don't need both Ahrefs and Semrush subscriptions for a first learning project.
7. Surfer
Surfer provides suggestions for search-focused content. Use them to notice missing topics, then decide which belong in your article. Adding every suggested term can make a useful draft difficult to read.
Writing and organising content
8. Jasper
Jasper focuses on marketing content and campaign work. Practise keeping an offer consistent across an ad, a landing page and an email. Check that the drafts don't invent benefits or customer claims.
9. Copy.ai
Copy.ai includes workflows for marketing tasks. A useful exercise is to map a repeatable process, such as turning an approved brief into draft content, and decide where a person should review the output.
10. Grammarly
Use Grammarly to review grammar, clarity and tone after you've written a draft. Read the suggestions before accepting them. A shorter sentence is helpful only if it still says what you mean.
11. Notion AI
Notion can keep campaign briefs, notes, drafts and deadlines together. Its AI features can help work through that material. Build a workspace where you can find the latest approved copy without searching several documents.
Design and social content
12. Canva
Make a small set of social posts for one campaign. Keep the type, colours and message consistent across sizes. Canva's templates and AI features can help with the draft, but check the finished artwork on a phone.
13. Adobe Firefly
Try Firefly for image ideas and visual variations. Give each image a purpose in the campaign. Review the result for odd details and check the applicable usage terms before publishing it.
14. Figma
Use Figma to plan a landing page and show how the headline, evidence and call to action fit together. AI features can help explore a starting layout. You'll still need to decide what visitors should notice and do.
15. Buffer
Buffer helps organise and schedule social publishing. Create a week's plan with a purpose for each post. Before scheduling, check the date, time zone, image crop and final caption.
16. Metricool
Use Metricool to practise reviewing social performance and planning posts. Compare results for a similar audience and period. A high engagement number means more when you can explain how the tool calculates it.
17. Predis.ai
Predis.ai creates draft social and ad assets. Try developing two different messages for the same offer, then edit the wording and visuals. Check every offer detail before treating a generated asset as ready to publish.
Advertising
18. Google Ads
Learn campaign structure, search intent, conversion tracking and budget controls before relying on automated features. You can prepare a sample campaign without spending money. Label it as a proposal rather than reporting results you haven't measured.
19. Meta Advantage+
Study how automated campaign options fit into Facebook and Instagram advertising. Start with the offer, audience and intended result. Before running an exercise with real money, confirm the spending limit and how you'll check conversions.
20. AdCreative.ai
AdCreative.ai can help generate ad variations. Use it to compare a product-led image with a benefit-led message, for example. Write down what you're changing and what result would make the comparison useful.
Analytics and reporting
21. Google Analytics 4
Learn where visitors come from, which events are recorded and what counts as a useful outcome. Before interpreting a report, check how its tracking was set up. Missing or duplicate events can change the story.
22. Google Data Studio
Google's reporting tool is now called Data Studio, formerly Looker Studio. Build a short dashboard that answers a few campaign questions. Label the date range and data source, and add notes explaining the numbers.
23. Hotjar
Heatmaps and recordings can help you investigate where people struggle on a page. Use them alongside other evidence and appropriate privacy settings. A cluster of clicks might suggest confusion, but you'll need to investigate why.
Video and automation
24. CapCut
Practise making a short explainer with a clear opening, readable captions and a useful ending. Check the exported video on a phone. Descript is another option for editing from a transcript, while Runway offers generative video tools if your project needs them.
25. Zapier
Try a small automation, such as sending a test form submission to a spreadsheet. Check what happens when a field is missing or the same submission arrives twice. Make and Airtable are other tools to explore as your workflow develops.
Turn the learning into one project
You can use a four-week plan without trying every product above:
| Week | Work to practise | Something to show |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Audience research and planning | A brief with sources and a clear offer |
| 2 | Writing and page structure | A blog draft and landing page outline |
| 3 | Design and publishing preparation | A small set of posts and a schedule |
| 4 | Reporting and automation | A simple dashboard and tested workflow |
Use the word counter when you need to check draft length. Read the copy aloud as well; repeated phrases and awkward sentences are easier to notice that way.
If the project uses fictional data, label it clearly. Explain what you made, why you chose it and what you'd measure in a live campaign.
Start with the tools you can already access. Pay for another one when you understand the task it will help you complete. Your portfolio will be more useful when it shows your decisions and the work behind them.
