Before you start
- What it is aboutA topic or keyword ("how to start a vegetable garden"), your own text, the web address of a page, or one of your finished SEO Magnets articles. Facts on the slides come only from the text or page you give.
- Your Aha Studio accountCarousel Buildr is for members: 60 carousels a month. Unlimited with your own AI key after your first 14 days.
- Your own OpenAI key, for AI slide images onlySlides drawn on the page need no key. Make it here uses your own OpenAI key under Keys and connections, never ours. Without it, use Open in ChatGPT and Upload image.
Carousels are swipeable posts of several images (not reels: short videos are Video Editr's ClipBuildr). The comment-to-DM block is copy only: your own DM tool sends the message.
PART 01
Build a carousel
0 of 6 done- Open Carousel BuildrAt carouselbuildr.ahastudio.net, or press Start something new on your account page and choose Social carousel.
- Pick where it comes fromWrite it from: Topic or keyword, Paste text (at least 40 words of your own), A web address (the page is read once), My article (a finished SEO Magnets article on your account), or Several topics to make up to 5 carousels at once, one topic a line.
- Tick the platformsPlatforms: Instagram, Facebook, TikTok photo mode, LinkedIn document, Pinterest. Each ticked platform gets its own caption.
- Choose the slides and the linkNumber of slides: 5 to 12: a cover, the ideas, a recap and a call to action. Link is optional: the page the captions, the pin and the DM send people to.
- Keep the comment-to-DM blockAdd a comment-to-DM block puts a trigger word in capitals on the last slide ("Comment GARDEN for the link") and drafts the trigger words and the message for your DM tool.
- Press Build the carouselFour steps tick off with their times: read the source, plan the slides, write the captions, check and assemble. A step that fails says why and has Retry; a step that has not moved for a while offers Continue. It keeps going if you close the page, and is kept in Your work, Carousels.
PART 02
The slides
The cover hookAt most 10 words with a swipe cue. A longer hook is swapped for a shorter one the AI offered, or cut to 10 words, and What the checks did says so. A cover with no cue gets "Swipe" and an arrow under the hook.
One idea per slideA headline and a short line on each slide, its own alt text (for screen readers and search) and a caption line. Copy alt text on each slide.
Drawn hereChoose a Layout (Bold, Light or Split) and a Size: 1080 x 1350 for Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn, 1080 x 1920 for TikTok photo mode, 1000 x 1500 for Pinterest. The exact words in your brand colour from your profile. Download PNG on each slide, or Download all slides (.zip).
LinkedInDownload the LinkedIn PDF: one slide per page, ready for a LinkedIn document post.
AI images on your own keyMake it here makes the slide on your own OpenAI key at 4:5, every word on the slide written into the prompt in quotes with where it goes and how heavy it is. Make every slide here does them all. OpenAI bills your account; nothing comes from your plan.
In ChatGPTCopy prompt or Open in ChatGPT uses the same prompt in your own ChatGPT, then Upload image puts what it made on the slide. Use the drawn slide takes an image off again.
The safe zoneKeep the words inside the safe zone: 12% from the top, 14% from the bottom and 8% from the sides, where the platforms' buttons and captions cover the edges. These percentages are a sensible guideline, not an official platform spec.
PART 03
Captions and posting
InstagramThe keyword opens the first line (added by code if the AI missed it), then the caption and 3 to 5 hashtags, within 2,200 characters.
FacebookA conversational post, within 63,206 characters.
TikTok photo modeA title and a caption with the keyword early and a few hashtags, within 4,000 characters, a title of 90.
LinkedIn documentA post that makes people open the document, within 3,000 characters.
PinterestA title starting with the keyword and a description, within 500 characters, a title of 100, and your link as the destination. Pinterest carousel pins take 2 to 5 images, so use the first slides, or the cover alone as a single pin.
CopyEach caption shows its count against the limit, with Copy caption (and Copy title for TikTok and Pinterest). Download .txt and Copy everything keep the whole carousel.
Send to Social PublisherInstagram, Facebook and LinkedIn captions go to Social Publisher after you see what happens: connected channels are scheduled from 9am the next morning, one an hour; the rest are saved as drafts. Each post carries the cover slide's image, so press Save the drawn cover or make the cover's image first (Instagram needs it). To post the whole carousel, download the slides and post them in the app.
TikTok and PinterestThere is no posting to them from Aha Studio: copy the captions and download the slides.
Comment to DMCopy only: set the auto-reply up in your own DM tool. Carousel Buildr drafts the trigger words and the message; it does not read comments or send messages.
The companion articleThe blog outline is for an article on the same keyword. Write it in SEO Magnets opens it with the keyword filled in.
PART 04
Your limits
Starter allowance5carousels in your first 14 days
Each month60carousels on the full allowance. Unlimited with your own AI key after your first 14 days.
A batchup to 5carousels at once from a list of topics, each counted
AI slide imagesown keymade on your own OpenAI key only; drawn slides and ChatGPT cost nothing here
PART 05
If something looks wrong
Still stuck? Email support@anthonyhayes.me or open the help desk.
Ready to build?Pick where the carousel comes from, tick the platforms and press Build the carousel. It finishes in under a minute.Open Carousel Buildr