Unlocking the Potential of ChatGPT: A Powerful Assistant for Content Creation Part 3

For the third article in my series about turning ChatGPT into an able assistant for content creation, I am delving into four content creation tasks:

1. Outline generation
2. Target audience identification
3. Communication channel identification
4. Content Review

The good news about these three is that the prompts are pretty simple. Let’s get started.

Outline Generation

All right, picture this: you have received an assignment on an unfamiliar topic and don’t know where to start or what to cover. Ask your pal ChatGPT to lend a helping hand and suggest an outline. Here’s a prompt that will get things rolling.

When you know your target audience.

Good day, Chat. I hope you are well. I need your help creating an outline for an article I am writing. Here are the parameters:

1.????? Article Topic: [enter a topic here]

2.????? Target Audience: [enter target here]

Please provide a logically structured outline that succinctly covers the topic.

Okay, what happens when you do not know who the topic will likely appeal to, aka your target audience? Use this prompt.

When you do not know your target audience.

Good day, Chat. I hope you are well. I need your help creating an outline for an article I am writing. Here are the parameters:

1.????? Article Topic: [enter a topic here]

2.????? Target Audience: Please identify the person most likely to be interested in this topic.

Using your target audience, please provide a logically structured outline that succinctly covers the topic.

Target Audience Identification

For those playing along at home, you’ll notice that I’ve already covered how to identify your best target audience. Here's the prompt again for those who like to scan and jump ahead to points of most interest.

When you do not know your target audience.

Good day, Chat. I hope you are well. I need your help creating an outline for an article I am writing. Here are the parameters:

1.????? Article Topic: [enter a topic here]

2.????? Target Audience: Please identify the person most likely to be interested in this topic.

Communication Channel Identification

Now that you have your well-written, properly focused article, what channels does your target audience prefer? Knowing this will help you plan your communication strategy. Here’s a prompt I use in these situations.

Good day, Chat. I hope you are well. I have written an article about [topic] and want to reach this target market [describe target market]. What are the communication channels this target market prefers?

Digging Deeper

ChatGPT typically (but not always) ends its responses with an offer to further investigate any aspect of the response. Don’t be shy about taking up the offer or asking for more information. When you do, make sure your follow-up prompt is specific. Here’s how to ask.

Thanks, Chat. This looks great. I’d like you to go into more detail about [enter item of interest here]. Please provide me with specific information and references where appropriate.

Advanced Techniques

Let’s recap. So far, we’ve covered interacting with ChatGPT and structuring prompts to get the best results. We’ve also looked at outline generation and primary market research to identify and reach the best audience. Now, let’s tackle polishing your content.

Content Review

As a writer, you know that having fresh eyes look over your content can help identify errors and areas for improvement. ChatGPT can be an excellent source for this step in content creation if you use it properly.

When I write, I use several tools to help me with grammar and style. Specifically, I use the following:

• Grammarly – real-time grammar and spell checking (29, 781,829 words checked since May 16, 2016:>))
• Microsoft Word Editor – grammar, spelling, readability, and passive voice checker.
• Hemingway Editor – style and passive voice checker.
• StyleWriter – this Word Add-In provides comprehensive style-checking capabilities.

There are thousands of writing tools on the market. These meet my needs and writing style. I encourage you to check them out or find the tools that best match your needs.

Why mention these tools when talking about using ChatGPT to review my content? Because even though ChatGPT can and occasionally does identify spelling and grammatical errors, that’s not its strong suit. So, I recommend providing copy with the fewest mistakes possible and asking ChatGPT for help in other areas.

You can ask ChatGPT to assess your content using any characteristic or criteria you choose, and it will happily accommodate your request. I regularly ask ChatGPT to assess my content in these categories:

• Tone of voice
• Style
• Logical structure and flow
• Content clarity

Here’s the prompt I use when asking ChatGPT to assess my content.

Hi Chat. I hope all’s well. I’d like you to assess some copy I’ve written on the following characteristics. Here are the characteristics: 1) tone of voice, 2) style, 3) logical structure and flow, 4) content clarity. Please provide a detailed assessment and specific recommendations for improvement. Let me know when you are ready, and I will paste my content.

Notice a couple of differences in the prompt. First, I use numbers and parentheses to delineate the characteristics rather than provide a bulleted list. Either way works, but sometimes this approach is easier.

Second, I asked ChatGPT to let me know when it is ready for my copy. Although unnecessary in this specific case, I like to make a habit of asking ChatGPT to let me know when it's ready to avoid it launching into its analysis before I have given it all the details.

Working with the Assessment Results

I’ve found ChatGPT’s assessments to be a mixture of useful and less-than-useful feedback. Sometimes, the assessment highlights areas that don’t apply, like offering clunky rewording suggestions that don’t work for me, and so on. These situations underscore the value of humans driving content creation; not every suggestion AI provides is correct or uses the voice you need for your content.

In those cases where you accept and use any of ChatGPT’s recommendations, do you need to identify them to your readers? That depends. Great answer, right? All right, here’s more detail. First, are you prohibited from using AI in your writing? Then, rework whatever ChatGPT suggests in your own words. If you can use some AI, include a note somewhere that you used AI in developing the content and briefly describe to what extent.

Documenting Originality

One thing I like to do is compare my text to existing content. This started as my no-plagiarism pledge to clients. Both Grammarly and Microsoft Word Editor can check for similarities to existing content and present results to you. For rigorous analysis and documentation, CopyLeaks is my preferred solution. It isn’t free, but when you need proof, this app provides the best, in my opinion.

CopyLeaks also offers an AI checker that tells you if a human or AI wrote a piece of content. In my experience, it’s not infallible, but it’s getting better. It is an option to consider if you are asked to document the use of AI or non-use, as the case may be.

Persona-based or Target Audience Content Review

Another great way to have ChatGPT assess your copy is from the perspective of a persona or target audience. Here’s a content assessment prompt that accomplishes this task.

Hi Chat. I hope all’s well. I’d like you to assess some copy I’ve written on the following characteristics. Please assess the copy from the perspective of [describe your target reader]. ?Here are the characteristics: 1) tone of voice, 2) style, 3) logical structure and flow, 4) content clarity, 5) resonance with the target audience. Please provide a detailed assessment and specific recommendations for improvement. Let me know when you are ready, and I will paste my content.

As mentioned, you can set any criteria for assessing the content your situation demands. For example, if your content is designed to evoke a particular response, like clicking a link or contacting someone for more information, add the following to your prompt:

6) what is the reader's likely response to the content?

Style-Guide Assessment

Most companies and organizations have style guides that ensure the tone, voice, and other content characteristics remain consistent, regardless of who creates it. These guides range from detailed directives to adherence to industry standards like the AP or Chicago Manual of Style to informal rules of thumb.

Checking your work for compliance with a client’s style guide ranks high on my list of best practices. However, it can be a tedious and complicated process, which makes it a perfect task for ChatGPT. You can even create a style guide for clients who have nothing formal but have definite ways they want their content written. One of my best clients is a case in point. Throughout working with him, he’d point out his preferences for how he liked content written.

So, I wrote these items in a journal to satisfy his preferences. As I started working with ChatGPT, I realized I could create a style guide and have ChatGPT check my writing against my client’s requirements. I made the guide and refined it with ChatGPT. Drum roll, please—it works beautifully!

Here’s the style guide based on my client’s preferences. I can easily update it as new requirements are shared:

Writing Rules for [Client]:

1. Voice and Tone: No passive wording. Don’t start a sentence with a contraction.
2. Hyperlink Usage: Don’t embed a hyperlink in a heading. Don’t embed a hyperlink in the introduction. Don’t embed a hyperlink in the first words of an opening sentence. Avoid single-word hyperlinks like “here.”
3. Bullet Points and Lists: Never use second-level bullets. No bullets in the introduction. Do not use a semi-colon to set off a list. Avoid semi-colons as much as possible. Use the M-dash instead.
4. Language and Phrasing: Don’t repeat words in close proximity. Avoid using “meets your needs,” “etc.,” “let’s,” or “here’s”. Minimize the use of question-and-answer type content. Don’t go back and forth chronologically; write linearly. Avoid numbering sections and headings unless writing a listicle. Do not use gerunds. Don’t bold hyperlinks.
5. Content Structure and Flow: Check for logical flow. (Define criteria for good flow) Check for choppiness. (Define criteria for smooth transitions) Ensure SEO keywords are included in the Title, Meta Description, Introduction, Closing, 5-6 times in the Copy, and 2 Headings.

Here are the steps and prompts to have ChatGPT review my content against the style guide.

1. Provide the style guide and review instructions using this prompt:

Hi Chat. I would like you to assess some content I’ve written against the style guide I have pasted below and let me know if I have missed anything. Please use this pre-assessment information to assist your assessment:

1) Target Audience: Who is the content aimed at?

2) Desired Tone of Voice: What tone should the content have?

3) SEO Keyword: What is the primary SEO keyword for this content?

Here is the style guide. Please let me know when you are ready for the content.

[Paste your style guide here]

2. Once ChatGPT tells you he’s ready, paste in your content and hit enter.

3. Review the ChatGPT results and adjust as necessary. Here is a partial example of ChatGPT’s review findings. He added [ ] of his own volition, a nice touch! Notice that where my content fails a parameter, the brackets do not have an X. Very cool!

Voice and Tone:

[ ] No passive wording: "XYZ Company is highly pleased with the new website" (Rewrite to active voice).

[ ] Don’t start a sentence with a contraction: "It was dark, brooding, masculine, and highly technical, which didn’t appeal..." (Rewrite to avoid contraction).

Hyperlink Usage:

[x] Don’t embed a hyperlink in a heading: No issues found.

[x] Don’t embed a hyperlink in the introduction: No issues found.

[x] Don’t embed a hyperlink in the first words of an opening sentence: No issues found.

[x] Avoid single-word hyperlinks like “here”: No hyperlinks to check.

Bullet Points and Lists:

[x] Never use second-level bullets: No issues found.

[x] No bullets in the introduction: No issues found.

[x] Do not use a semi-colon to set off a list: No issues found.

[x] Avoid semi-colons as much as possible: No semi-colons used.

Conclusion

In the months I’ve been using ChatGPT, I’ve uncovered some remarkable capabilities that have greatly enhanced my content creation, including:

• Outline generation
• Target audience identification
• Content review
• Documenting originality
• Style guide compliance assessment

Stay tuned for Part IV, where we’ll take a gander at how to write effective and efficient Prompts.

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Disclaimer: The content of this article series, including all text and images, is protected by copyright law. Unauthorized use or duplication of this material without express and written permission from the author is strictly prohibited. For permissions, contact me at [email protected]. Hey, I may want to make it into a movie! Thanks.

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