The Vocal editor is built around blocks. Every time you want to add something to your story, click the + icon on the left side of the editor (right side on mobile) and choose what you want to insert. No coding, no uploading to external services first.

Here's what each block does:

Upload - select a photo from your device and it uploads directly to your story.

Unsplash search - search Vocal's integrated Unsplash library for free, rights-cleared photos. Type a keyword, pick an image, and it's inserted. No attribution required.

Embed via URL - paste a direct image URL and it renders in place.

Video - paste a URL from YouTube, Vimeo, or another supported video platform. The video embeds directly into your story so readers can play it without leaving the page.

Embed - paste any URL and Vocal renders a rich preview: podcasts, Spotify playlists, SoundCloud tracks, product pages, tweets, articles, and most other public web content. If there's an oEmbed available for that URL, it'll render.

Poetry - a free-text block that preserves your exact spacing and line breaks as typed. Use this for any verse, lyric, or content where the layout matters. The standard text editor will reflow your formatting; the Poetry block won't.

Blockquote - styled pull-quote formatting for highlighting a passage or quoting a source.

Code block - multi-line code with language syntax highlighting. Good for tutorials, technical articles, or any story that includes code samples.

Inline code - for short snippets referenced within a paragraph, like a command or variable name.

Divider - a clean visual break between sections. Useful for separating distinct parts of a long story.

Subscribe button - a one-tap button for readers to follow your Vocal profile. Subscribers get notified when you publish new stories, which compounds into a more reliable audience over time.

Share button - makes it easy for readers to share your story directly from within the article itself.

Comment callout - an invitation for readers to join the conversation using Vocal's comment system. Good for discussion-style stories where reader response is part of the point.

Custom button - link to any URL with a button that opens in a new tab. Use it to drive readers to your website, a product, a newsletter signup, or anything else.

Author card - feature another Vocal creator's profile within your story. Good for co-authored content, recommendations, or interviews.

Your story auto-saves as you write, so you don't need to save manually after adding each piece of media. If an embed isn't rendering, double-check that you're using the public URL for the content, not a private or login-gated link.

For more detail on embedding rich media, read this guide.