Episode 194: How to Use ChatGPT Without Losing Your Personality with Leanne Shelton
Leanne Shelton is a content strategy genius staring down ChatGTP. We're going to dive into how to use ChatGPT wisely, its power and problems, and the future of copywriting.
Content is still king. Enter ChatGPT, a free artificial intelligence tool that spits out thousands of words based on the prompts people enter. For Leanne, who founded Write Time Marketing, there was a concern that an already undervalued skill would take another hit.
“To this day, people will pay thousands of dollars for a website design. You say it’s only half of that for the copy and they’re like ‘it’s a bit much,’” says Leanne. “The world needs to hear from a copywriter how to use [ChatGPT] effectively and properly because there are still the structural elements that you need to know.”
How to use ChatGPT in your business
Leanne points out there is a psychological element behind written content. The brand's voice needs to come across so your content sounds different from everyone else's.
It comes down to knowing what to insert into ChatGPT (the prompts) and evaluating if what it returns is high quality. Notably, ChatGPT won't offer resources when your posts require research, so people will still need to complete that part. It gives surface-level information.
“We want two things: Know how to prompt to go deeper or say ‘Cool, that's a great first rough draft; it’s something to start with no white screen of death.’ Now I'm going to go do that research and fill in those gaps,” says Leanne.
Like every business, outsourcing copywriting to ChatGPT comes down to having the time and skills. Copywriters will remain relevant once people realize you can't just input a line and take whatever it gives you. There's a lot more effort involved.
Part of pivoting for Leanne has meant offering services to edit ChatGPT attempts and add the human element and voice for the client. Sales pages, in particular, are business assets that work for you when you're not there. If the copy is garbage or sounds like everyone else, it won't work.
How to write a ChatGPT prompt
Leanne says you can be as specific as possible in your ChatGPT writing prompt. The more specific you are, the more likely you'll get your intended results the first time – a little extra effort into the prompt can mean less editing later.
Here is what to include:
- Context: an overview of the topic, the scenario, or example
- The type of post: newsletter, blog post, etc.
- Desired action: Are you asking for a creative idea, a solution to a problem or explanation of the concept?
- Background information: Do you already have facts you want to include
- Tone of voice: professional, conversational, humorous, etc.
- Style: persuasive, entertaining, etc.
- Audience: who is it for? (i.e. stressed business owners, businesswomen, etc.)
Why ChatGPT hasn't killed blogging
Leanne’s perspective on blogging is that most business owners consider it a tick in the box for marketing. The post is written. It’s put on the website and optimized for SEO. Then, the wait begins for people and Google to find it.
Leanne encourages a more proactive approach that turns blogging into a full content marketing strategy. She says people are missing an opportunity to repurpose the content. For example, if you have a blog about a client’s pain points that’s about 1,500 to 2,000 words, you can then repurpose it into several social media posts by extracting all your key points from the article.
The key thing is to pull out the content of the article and show how that will help the reader – make it about something that really matters to people. This content could be spread out from three to six months, from just one post.
You can also send the post in a newsletter, which keeps your name top of mind when they open their inbox.
“Everyone consumes media differently. Some prefer to read, some prefer to listen to the information in their car, some prefer to watch videos. … So if you have all the bases covered, then the opportunity to connect with people it just explodes,” says Leanne, who also does podcast versions of her posts and a video version for YouTube.
Repurpose old content with a ChatGPT prompt
If you feel like you have no ideas and the white screen and cursor are just flashing before your eyes, Leanne suggests this could be an opportunity for ChatGPT to enter the business. Try feeding an existing post into the tool and asking it to turn it into five social media posts.
Similarly, if you're trying to figure out your next topic and your brain is fried, ask ChatGPT for 10 blog posts suitable for [your topic, your audience]. And it will give you an outline. Then, you can massage the outline and add in extra research.
Show the person behind the brand
People do business with people, so it’s important that we know the people who are running the brands we love the most.
For Leanne, that means not only offering content on her pages related to her business but some behind the scenes posts. She shares some of her hobbies, like running, because her life isn't always just work.
She encourages people to have an About Page on their website and to include more than your mission and vision for your business. Tell the story of how you started your business, who you are, or where you come from because people want to connect to a person.
Show up consistently
Leanne tries her best to show up in her local area of Sydney, Australia – be it with her local business chamber or online in videos. Being visible and not hiding behind a logo is essential.
When she connects with people on LinkedIn, she posts soon after because the platform will boost new connections to the top of their feeds. If the content is engaging and exciting and they like it, you'll keep coming up in their feed and stay top of mind.
This is important as Leanne notes content marketing can be a long game to convince clients to hire a copywriter. It is more likely to happen if you stay consistent and visible face-to-face online.
Think of it like if you see a celebrity walking down the street. That person might not know you – but you might feel as if you know them, that recognition for what it is you do is what you want to strive for.
“If you just suddenly stop with your content and disappear for six months, when they are ready to buy the competitor is who they will see,” says Leanne. “Coming back to the content – just being consistent; it might feel like you’re just doing this stuff for nothing at times, but then you’ll get a call out of the blue or a message out of the blue.”
So, while ChatGPT can save you time if you're using it effectively, business owners still need to do the work to understand their people, their reputation, their brand, and their humanity.
