In case you haven’t yet noticed, AI (Artificial Intelligence) is becoming rather common place in marketing. I am by no means an expert in AI, but I am learning all the time, about how to make better use of it, in creating marketing content. I read other newsletters and blogs every week; I’ve invested in a few courses, to keep up to speed with this ever changing tool.

One of my clients asked me to deliver a webinar on using AI in marketing content. Having put together the programme, I thought I would share with you some of the key points. If you’re already using AI to create your marketing content, you’ll probably find some of this quite basic. If you’re new to it and looking to learn, there’s plenty here for you to try.

(You’ll find the answer to the ‘Did I use AI to write this blog?’ question at the end of this issue!)

AI for Marketing Content

Here’s my current thinking on using AI for your marketing content.

1. Look at the opportunities and limitations of AI for marketing.

What AI is good at? It’s good at generating ideas, creating first drafts, repurposing content, summarising information and helping you overcome the ‘blank page problem.

What is it not good at? It can’t understand your clients, build relationships or share personal experiences, without human input.

AI can make mistakes and invent facts – known as hallucinating. If you don’t give it all the details, it will fill in the blanks and actually make stuff up! When I first asked ChatGPT about my 5 StandOut Strategies, it came back with something totally generic and nothing to do with my work.

Take this into account before you rely too heavily on AI for creating your marketing content.

2. Write better prompts to get better marketing content. If you ask an AI to write you a blog about coaching, it will do it. And it will sound exactly the same as every other blog that was created in the same way. Here’s what I’ve learned (through trial and error) about prompts and instructing an AI:

• Have a conversation with your AI tool. If you were asking a copywriter to produce a newsletter, you would have a conversation with them. Treat AI the same way.
• Give the tool as much detail as you can. The prompts I give to AI tools often take me a long time to write. I start them in a Word file and play around with the wording, until they make sense to me and I know they would make sense to AI. Prompts don’t have to be beautifully written prose, but they need to contain all your instructions and any details that your AI tool might need.
• Don’t be afraid to correct your AI. When it gets something wrong – which it will – correct it. When it makes something up, because it doesn’t know the true facts – correct it. When it uses words, phrases or punctuation that you don’t like – correct it. Treat it like teaching a new subject to someone. They learn from having their mistakes corrected.

3. Use AI to create blogs, emails, social media posts and newsletters. Don’t ask AI to write your marketing; ask it to help you write better marketing. Here’s how:

• Start with ideas. Asking AI for blog topics, LinkedIn post ideas, newsletter themes or FAQs that clients regularly ask, can help you get started.
• Use AI to create a first draft. Give it information about your clients, the service you’re promoting and the outcome you want. A rough draft produced in 30 seconds is much easier to improve than starting from scratch. But never publish that first draft!
• Repurpose one piece of content into many. Once you’re happy with your blog post, use AI to create shorter LinkedIn posts or longer articles. Make sure you tell your AI tool exactly where each piece of content is going to be used and provide a word count.
• Always add your expertise. AI doesn’t know your clients, your experiences or the conversations you’ve had. Add your own examples, opinions and advice, to make your marketing stand out.

4. Edit and refine AI-generated content to sound like your voice.

This is so important! Teach your AI tool who you are. Tell it about your business, your ideal clients, your services and what makes you different. Tell it which StandOut Strategy you use and give it the relevant list of words. (Take the Test for free on my website, if you’d like the list of words.) The more context you provide, the better the results.

Describe your tone of voice and your language preferences. Give AI examples of your best writing, like previous newsletters, blogs or website copy. Ask it to analyse your style before creating anything new.

Most AI tools allow you to set up ‘rules’ and ‘projects’. Make the most of them, so that you don’t have to tell it every time what your preferences are and to use UK English!

Remember that AI reflects what you tell it. If your prompt is vague, your content will be generic. If your prompt is specific, your content will sound much more like you and your business.

5. Avoid common mistakes! AI can be incredibly useful, provided you use it sensibly. Here’s what you must avoid doing:

• Never publish AI’s first draft. Think of the tool as a junior marketing assistant. It can do the groundwork, but you still need to review, edit and improve the final version.
• Check every fact. We know that AI can invent statistics and details. Be prepared to be challenged on what you write, so know where it came from.
• Never include confidential client information. Avoid giving names or commercially sensitive information to public AI tools.
• Don’t let your personality disappear. Marketing works because people buy from people – especially when it comes to coaches, consultants and trainers. Add your own stories, opinions and examples.
• Don’t become over-dependent on AI. Your clients aren’t looking for content written by artificial intelligence. They’re looking for trusted advisers. AI should make your marketing faster, not less human.

There’s a lot to consider here and AI is changing all the time. To summarize, the businesses that succeed won’t be the ones using AI to replace people. They’ll be the ones using AI to free up time, so they can spend more time building relationships with their clients.

The Marketing Moment

Here’s a quick exercise you can try with your AI of choice.

Write two prompts, for the same piece of marketing material – whether it’s a blog, newsletter or LinkedIn post.

1. Prompt 1 – create it with as much information as possible about your business, your clients, your style and tone.
2. Prompt 2 – make this one much shorter and more generic. I might write “Create a blog for a Marketing Consultant.”

Give both prompts to the same AI and compare the difference!

Just for fun, there’s a prize of a copy of my book, StandOut Strategies, up for grabs, for the best one. Send me both versions so I can compare them. I’ll choose the best, based on the difference between the two versions and which I think stands out the best from all the results and send you a copy of my book!

Beyond the Blog

As I said at the start of this article, I’m a long way off being an expert in AI. However, I am using it more and more, for creating great, stand out marketing content.

If you’d like to chat about how you can use AI to improve your marketing, without sounding like everyone else in your market, then book a free 30 call with me. Pick a slot in my online calendar and I can share more tips and advice with you.

Did I use AI to write this blog? Yes and no! I took some of the material that ChatGPT and I created together for the client webinar and adapted it to suit you. It still took me an hour to complete the final draft, but most of my blogs take an hour for me to write from scratch.