By now, nearly all writers and content marketers have at least dipped a toe into the AI waters.
Like everyone else, here at Nectafy, we’re trying to determine the best way to work with this new tool and how we can use it to enhance our offerings to clients.
Two heads (or more) are better than one, so we rounded up a couple of other writing professionals to get their take on ChatGPT and content marketing:
AJ Silberman-Moffitt from Tandem (Senior Editor & Buzz Ambassador)
Amy Suto from AmySuto.com (Freelance Memoir Ghostwriter)
Our discussion covered the subject from a variety of angles, including how they’re using ChatGPT in their daily work, their hopes and fears with regard to AI, the future of SEO, and ethical considerations when using AI tools.
We hope you’ll watch the video to get the full discussion. So many good points were made that it would be difficult to mention them all here.
But if you’d rather get the CliffsNotes version—or you’re just a fan of the written word—keep reading for our summary of some of the conversation’s main takeaways.
6 Takeaways From Our Conversation On ChatGPT & Content Marketing
#1: ChatGPT won't replace you; people using ChatGPT will.
According to AJ, that’s the sentiment of Tandem’s founder, Joe Laratro. In his view, it’s a tool that’s there to help us, not to replace us.
Amy agrees, noting that AI has come a long way - even in the few months since her first ChatGPT experiment when she tasked it with writing a sample newsletter.
Now, she realizes that the conversation shouldn’t be about whether or not copywriters will be replaced but rather about the best ways copywriters can use it—for example, to help with idea generation or increase our productivity.
#2: AI prompt writing is an art.
Both Amy and AJ commented on the nuanced art of AI prompt writing.
For AJ, it’s been an extensive learning process to figure out how to make ChatGPT most receptive to her requests.
“It’s almost like writing a script,” she says.
She starts with the three most basic ingredients—the client’s name/industry, the subject, and the keywords.
From there, she attempts to continuously improve the prompts, guiding the tool to build on information from previously written pieces.
Amy has noticed that “the way you prompt it can change everything—the output, the style of writing, and even the depth of the way it researches.
Telling ChatGPT, ‘You are the best researcher in the world for this topic—give me something great’ will make it approach a piece differently than if you were to just say to it, ‘Hey, write me a blog post.’
The art of prompt writing is kind of like copywriting,” she says.
“That precision of language that you need in the prompt is that nuanced human communication that you need as a copywriter. It’s an art form that’s started to emerge. Prompt engineers and prompt writers are trying to steer the ship around how we’re communicating with AI.”
Telling ChatGPT, “You are the best researcher in the world for this topic—give me something great’ will make it approach a piece differently than if you were to just say to it, “Hey, write me a blog post.”
#3: You still need to do your own fact-checking.
“ChatGPT lies sometimes,” says AJ, even if it’s not on purpose.
Whenever she’s asked to see sources, the website links provided tend to be invalid.
Just be aware that “it can spit out incorrect information, so it’s very important to verify the information it finds for you.”
#4: ChatGPT makes creativity more accessible.
Both AJ and Amy believe that AI tools will put writing—and even designing—within reach of more people, essentially “getting more players on the field.”
People who may have creative ideas but are stumped on how to write a first draft, for example, might be able to use tools like ChatGPT to bring their ideas to life.
“I hope it unlocks the imagination of people who maybe didn’t have a strong grasp of writing or creativity and needed a little bit of a boost to help organize their ideas,” says Amy. “I hope it brings about a renaissance that allows people to jump in and create things without having the tools of a designer or a writer or a photographer.”
AJ has similar hopes and urges people to learn from AI tools.
“I hope people realize they can use it to make themselves better writers. Don’t just look at it and say, ‘I don’t need to write. It can write for me.’ Learn from it. There’s so much that it can teach you. We need to take advantage of that.”
#5: Transparency is key.
If you’re part of a content agency and are using AI tools for content writing, transparency is important.
Some clients may not want you to use AI tools, so it’s best to be upfront and tell them you’re utilizing AI to assist in content creation.
Content creators also need to be honest about the fact that AI tools won’t provide all the answers, and they still can’t produce content the way people would—ChatGPT simply hasn’t mastered the nuances that make human writing sound, well, human.
AJ advises writers to “use it as a tool, but don’t try to use it to replace everything.”
“I hope people realize they can use it to make them better writers. Don’t just look at it and say, ‘I don’t need to write. It can write for me.’ Learn from it.”
#6: Test new tools before applying them to client work.
AI tools are multiplying quickly and can be hit-or-miss.
Before you introduce an AI tool into your content marketing process, it’s imperative to test out its accuracy and find out if it’s even going to be useful in helping you reach your goals.
Amy recommends that “everyone in this space should assign someone on your team to be the AI R&D person—the person who’s going out and testing all these tools, trying things out, letting the rest of the team know what is working and what is not.”
“We’re in a huge era of change,” says Amy. “Keeping up with that and understanding how AI can and cannot help our workflow is almost a full-time job at this point.”
And as AJ notes, that time investment isn’t just about finding a tool that works for you and moving on. “Keep in mind that it’s not going to be perfect right away.” It will take a substantial time investment to improve your interactions and, ultimately, your results.
There’s much more great content where this came from, so watch the video above for the full scoop!
Thanks again to our expert guests, Amy Suto & AJ Silberman-Moffitt, for sharing their time and insights on ChatGPT!
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