Man vs. the Machine

Where do we go from here? AI, writing, and the future of marketing

What does it mean to be human?

The stage is set.?

If you do a quick google of the phrase “what does it mean to be human?” you will get a list of points like bi-pedalism, brain size, tool use and thumb anatomy. AI, with all its flaws, has brought up important questions about our humanity. Perhaps the most important one to answer, regardless of the industry you are in is- where do we go from here??

Today, I am going to focus on my corner of the universe-content marketing. Writers are in an uproar because they are being replaced by AI. Content agencies that have been pulling the wool over the eyes of their customers with low- quality fluff are realizing the jig is up. Panic- stricken CEOs are quickly pivoting to personal brand tactics. My little industry is being shaken up in the most delightful way and I am here with my jumbo popcorn enjoying the show. (extra butter)

This doesn’t phase me. I am rather excited. Firstly, because very soon we are going to see who the real writers are around here, and secondly, because there is a facet to my abilities as a human being that Chat GPT has nothing on- my creativity.?

In this article:?

• Human to Human Marketing (h2h)
• ChatGPTs downstream effects on our industry
• How I use AI to assemble content (and some useful prompts to try)
• Where we go from here

Grab a drink and join me!?

Before we pick a side, make signs and get out on the picket line we need to look at this technology for what it truly is. Not a threat, but an invitation to do better by leaning into our natural, inimitable, built-in creativity.?

ChatGPT’s downstream effects on content marketing

Chat GPT exposed the major flaw in how we have been approaching marketing for the last, well, forever. The internet is so saturated with low-vibe, useless crap that when this incredible tool could only spit out more of the same we became outraged and started blaming the tool. In fact, this technology has only held up the mirror to something that we were too afraid to admit- we got lazy. You see, all ChatGPT can do is use what’s already out there and morph it into something new-ish.?

Garbage in. Garbage out.?

A few of us woke up to this and quickly started tackling the bigger questions, like ‘how do we do better?’ and ‘what does better even mean?’?

I have noticed some trends pop up like mushrooms in the world of content marketing. Different, but all connected by the same underground network of ideas.?

Founder-led?

Have you seen a lot more CEOs popping up on your feeds? I’ve been seeing a rash of personal brand content out there and we have ChatGPT to thank for it. I am talking senior executives who are realizing that the best strategy for their businesses is to show up as humans.

This technology has made us lose trust in anonymous brand content. The pendulum is now swinging the other way and we are seeing real human faces. These are not accidental. These guys didn’t just wake up one day and decide “you know what, I need to spend 10 hours this week on social media” Nope. They hired consultants. They build on-purpose content strategies (yep that post with the kids is strategic) and they are here because they have to be. This trend is only going to accelerate.?

Story-led?

ChatGPT is great at a lot of things, but it sucks at storytelling and emotional nuance. Humans have been telling stories around a fire for 30,000 years. We have a bit of an unfair advantage don’t you think? In fact, we are wired for story. We need the villain. We need the quest. We need the hero, and the guide. Donald Miller was right in that storytelling is the most effective marketing tool. One of my favorite new podcasts that has risen from the ashes of this AI v. Human battle is How Stories Happen by Jay Acunzo. Check it out!?

Empathy-led

There are two camps out there when it comes to marketing. The ‘listen to your customer’ camp and the ‘listen to your competitor camp’. Up until now, it was somewhat of an uphill battle convincing clients to do deep research on the humans that actually fuel their business. The retort has often been ‘just look at what (big brand) is doing and do something like that.” Ha! Now that we see what a bang-up job Chat GPT is doing of regurgitating content, we are waking up to the fact that laziness will not do.?

We spend too much time on B2B v. B2C distinctions, missing the fact that at the bottom of these transactions regardless of whether you are selling a hair-growth serum or a SAAS solution is a single human being. Yes, the buying motivations are slightly different as you can see by looking at Maslow’s hierarchy vs. Godin’s hierarchy.?

There are some overlaps though. Gaining praise-> esteem; Gaining power-> psychological needs; making profit-> safety needs.?

My point is I can see a shift to H2H (human to human) marketing as the B2C/ B2B distinction no longer serves us.?

Which brings me to my next point…

We spend too much time on B2B v. B2C distinctions, missing the fact that at the bottom of these transactions regardless of whether you are selling a hair-growth serum or a SAAS solution is a single human being.

Sua Mano

When I was in University studying Art History, one of my favorite things to read was Italian Renaissance contracts between patrons and artists. These very legal sounding documents had something called the ‘sua mano’ clause. Sua mano translates to ‘his hand’. This clause required the artist to use his own hand when painting the important parts of the work of art- things like the faces and hands. “not as if it was made by many hands, like it seems to be done now, because then it might become deformed, but by you alone.” Source The reason for this was because Renaissance artists were not precious about their work. They employed large teams of craftsmen to help them execute their orders. Discerning patrons could tell when the maestro handed over some of the finer work to an apprentice with less finesse and experience. You can hear them now: “What am I paying you the big bucks for?”

To tie this back to content creation, we need to include our own ‘sua mano’ clause when it comes to creating work. If we lean too much on this technology, we will get sub-par “distorted” content that misses the mark. There needs to be a ‘maestro’ in charge of this. There are parts of the content- creation process however that you can and perhaps should delegate to the ‘workshop’.?

I like to think of ChatGPT as my own personal workshop, full of helpful hands that can help me with the more mundane and architectural parts of content creation.?

5 ways I use AI to be a better content creator

ChatGPT has become a very valuable part of my content assembly process. I say assembly because contrary to popular belief, I don’t just sit at my computer, summon the Muse and start writing. There’s a process of steeping myself in information, foraging, assembling and finally writing.?

Here’s how I use this tool to help me speed things up.?

1. Research Assistant

This technology has sped up the way I find information online. Looking for a report on the future of work? Just ask it to pull up reports from the top 5 consulting firms. Looking for a university paper on the ‘sua mano’ clause in Italian Renaissance contracts? (as one does ??)ChatGPT is an excellent research assistant and delivers in seconds.?

2. Junior Copywriter

Another one of my favorite use- cases for ChatGPT is structured outlining. I feed it the topic/ working title, the main points I want included and some background on the industry and I ask it to create an outline for me. If I feed it the right context and am super- targeted with what I ask for and how I ask for it- it does a great job getting me past the painful blank page.?

3. Thought Partner

Stuck for an idea? Want 20 versions of the same headline? This part of content writing used to drive me nuts. ChatGPT has enabled me to quickly ideate my way to stronger statements. Obviously, you need to exercise discernment, but it gives you so many ideas so quickly that it saves me a ton of time on ideation. I was stuck on a juicy title for this article so I fed it my list of 96 hook templates, fed it the article and asked it to come up with 15 alternative titles using copywriting frameworks. Magic!?

4. Editor?

Probably one of my favorite functions of ChatGPT is its capacity for editorial work. Yes, it helps me with grammar, spelling and syntax but it can also do more. Here is my new favorite prompt:?

"Help me improve this (type of asset). Compare this to what is already online and give me feedback. Did I miss anything? How can this be improved? Based on your knowledge of my industry and target clients, is this a useful piece of content?"?

I have been training my own GPT for the last few months and at this point I have given it so many precise data points that when I ask it questions like this it actually gives me 5-6 points to consider incorporating into my work. It will also suggest re- structuring and additional resources. Try it!?

5. Admin Assistant

A few weeks ago I was on a webinar and got a sneak peak at another writer’s Notion dashboard. It was so well organized and I wanted to implement it into my own business. Problem was it looked so complicated and my Notion skills are not that great. Someone on the call suggested I hire someone. Someone else suggested I take a course.?

I thought- what if I feed ChatGPT a screenshot of the dashboard and ask it to give me very precise instructions on how to replicate it. To my surprise- it worked.?

As you can see, I don’t use it to ‘write’, because it’s not a great writer. But it is great at providing the scaffolding for great writing.?

Where do we go from here?

I leave you with this.?

Before we pick a side, make signs and get out on the picket line we need to look at this technology for what it truly is. Not a threat, but an invitation to do better by leaning into our natural, inimitable, built-in creativity.?

As much as I love messing around with new technology, I am still a huge fan of pen and paper. I have numerous notebooks, notepads and sketchbooks lying around. My best ideas do not come to me in front of screens, or in collaboration with technology. They come to me when I am out in nature, when I am cleaning my house, when I am floating on a paddle board or walking my dog.

Now more than ever, it is crucial that we nurture our birthright as makers so that we can become better marketers. (and humans)

Chat GPT is great at convergent ‘thought’ but we have the exclusive rights on ‘divergence’, which is where our creative superpowers come from.?

Time to upgrade our toolkits!?