Podcast Summary: Marketing Against The Grain

Episode: Claude Skills: Build Your Own AI Experts (Full Breakdown)
Date: October 21, 2025
Hosts: Kipp Bodnar (HubSpot's CMO), Kieran Flanagan (HubSpot's SVP of Marketing)

Episode Overview

In this episode, Kipp and Kieran dive deep into the launch of Claude AI’s groundbreaking “skills” feature. This innovation allows users to arm the Claude AI assistant with custom, expert-level abilities—essentially building your own AI experts on demand. The hosts demonstrate how to create, teach, and deploy these skills, providing actionable insights and detailed walkthroughs tailored for marketers and growth professionals. Expect first-hand experimentation and step-by-step guides for leveraging Claude to massively enhance productivity and output.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introduction to Claude’s Skills Feature

• [01:15] Kipp introduces the core innovation: users can now upload any skill to Claude, letting it autonomously select the best fit when given a task.
  • “You can actually now give your Claude AI assistant a bunch of incredible skills. Any world-class skill that you can imagine, you can now give it to Claude and it can choose that skill whenever you need it to do that task.” — Kipp Bodnar [00:00]
• Demonstration via video walkthrough (described verbally for the audience): Uploading brand guideline and poster design skills, then watching Claude automatically switch between them depending on the task.

2. Skill Creation and Upload Process

• [03:00] Kipp takes listeners step-by-step through making a new skill for Claude:
  • Enter Claude’s skills/capabilities panel, enable "Filex creation" and "skills."
  • Ask Claude to generate a skill (e.g., create a FOMO-inducing hook for posts).
  • Download, format, and upload the skill file (Skill.md zipped, WAML format required).
• Emphasis on prompt quality:
  • “To really start to get really great at this, you're going to have to have much better prompts.” — Kipp [04:00]
• The importance of structuring your instruction files correctly for successful implementation.

3. Real-World Application Examples

• [05:00] Example skills in action:
  • Hook Creator Skill: AI generates powerful post hooks referencing proven frameworks from elite writers.
    • “AI just passed a test that will make most market research obsolete. A study from Pymc Labs. What a great hook this is and look, it gives me the exact formula, cost hook and specificity. Why it works hook...” — Kipp [06:00]
  • Mini Problem Solver Skill: AI assists in overcoming daily challenges, such as posting Substack tutorials on LinkedIn without losing engagement.
    • AI runs through a “root cause” and “what matters most” analysis before brainstorming options.
    • “Reform your tutorial as a LinkedIn article or a carousel post. Drop the link in the first comment, create a teaser and weekly newsletter post...” — Kipp (quoting Claude) [07:20]
• Note: Sometimes users need to prompt Claude explicitly to use the right skill, especially with generic problem names.

4. Tips, Troubleshooting, and User Experience

• [07:55] Uploading can be “a little bit tricky”—Naming conventions and formatting need to be precise (Skill.md, zipped, WAML).
  • “The main thing is you can see here it's now using my skill...Go try out your new skills now.” — Kipp [07:45]
• Users are encouraged to experiment, refine prompts, and iterate on skill design for optimum results.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Kipp Bodnar [01:15]:
  “This is one of the coolest launches of the year...you can actually arm Claude with any number of skills now, and it can do that work at an expert level for you as long as you know how to create the right skills files and teach Claude how to be an expert in that task.”

• Kipp [04:00]:
  “To really start to get really great at this, you're going to have to have much better prompts. But just to start, we're just going to ask it to create a hook that creates FOMO among readers.”

• Kipp [06:00]:
  “AI just passed a test that will make most market research obsolete. A study from Pymc Labs. What a great hook this is and look, it gives me the exact formula...”

Timestamps for Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment Description | |-----------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:15 | Introduction to Claude’s skills and the new capabilities menu | | 03:00 | Step-by-step guide to creating and uploading your first Claude skill | | 05:00 | Example 1: Creating a ‘FOMO-inducing Hook’ skill and seeing it in action | | 06:40 | Breakdown of AI-generated hooks and their structure | | 06:55 | Example 2: Creating a “Mini Problem Solver” skill for real-life issues | | 07:20 | AI’s problem solving in practice: LinkedIn post engagement challenge | | 07:55 | Troubleshooting advice and encouragement to experiment |

Key Takeaways

• Claude’s skill system transforms it into a true AI expert — not just a general assistant but a repository and performer of specialized skills tailored to your business needs.
• Quality prompting and file formatting are essential. The power lies in your ability to make instructions explicit, modular, and easy for the AI to interpret.
• Immediate practicality: Marketers and professionals can create libraries of skills, from content hooks to marketing problem-solving, supercharging their daily workflows.
• Iterative approach recommended: Start small, test, refine, and gradually build up a toolkit customized for your organization’s priorities.

Final Word:
“This feature is a game-changer for anyone willing to experiment… you can actually arm Claude with any number of skills...Go try out your new skills now.” — Kipp Bodnar [07:45]