Crafting for Impact: How to Create Perfect AI Copy Without Losing Your Authenticity (Scroll below for THE best SEO Optimised Prompt!)
CHAT GPT PROMPTING TIPS
First a personal story (or skip & go straight for the prompt below!)
From a young age, I had a profound love for English books, despite it not being my native language. Some of my earliest memories are intertwined with books, and if I didn't have a storybook to immerse myself in, I would eagerly pore over the dictionary, delving into the nuances of individual words. The English language captivated me, becoming my first love.
My books became gateways to boundless imagination, transporting me to vibrant new worlds where I could journey alongside Alice down the rabbit hole or join the gang at Toad Hall as flames engulfed their forest home.
At the age of 14, I moved to England with high hopes of finding like-minded individuals who would become lifelong friends. However, reality proved to be starkly different. I struggled to understand others, and they struggled to understand me. The English spoken here carried cultural nuances that my beloved 19th-century books couldn't prepare me for.
I felt heartbroken and disenchanted, convinced that I was somehow inadequate. Believing that acceptance hinged on conformity, I adopted a false persona, sacrificing my true self throughout my teenage years and early twenties.
Looking back, I realize now that my struggle wasn't with the English language but with communication itself.
When I first started my blog, I delved into such obscure topics that hardly anyone showed interest in reading them. Frustrated, I turned inward for answers, convinced that if only I could master the art of beautiful writing, people would flock to my blog.
Little did I realize, the issue wasn't the quality of my writing, but rather my approach to audience engagement. I wrote without considering my readers, lacking a clear agenda. While such freeform writing may have its place in personal journals, expecting to captivate an audience with esoteric topics and complex language was a monumental mistake and a valuable lesson learned.
In today's digital age, it is said that “Attention is the new Oil”. At the same time our rapidly evolving technology has drastically shortened our attention spans. Long-winded, convoluted prose no longer holds appeal; instead, readers crave concise, easily digestible content.
Clear not Clever is the advice given, don’t try to impress people by being clever – that simply doesn’t work anymore. Be clear in your communication. And use simple words.
It wasn’t until I worked in Machine Learning that I realised how complicated Human Language really is and how culturally wrapped our language tends to be. I experienced first hand the challenge it was to have machine reproduce human language. I worked alongside brilliant minds who broke language down into rules and applied reinforcement learning to synthesise language. It was like teaching a baby to speak. A little by little and then feeding it lots of stimulus so it could recognise patterns and deduce meanings.
This is when I thought, could I use BERT and other language models to refine my conversation?
Something similar happened with Alysia Silberg, author of Unemployable, a South African Native who moved to Silicon Valley to start her business ventures. Despite sharing a common language with Californians, she found herself struggling to connect with her peers, leading to missed opportunities and feelings of inadequacy. She recalls:
“When I went to Silicon Valley, I didn’t know how to communicate, I come from South Africa, and it was a very different style of communication. Very very short, one line answers. I grew up in the commonwealth and had a commonwealth style of speaking, and I would trigger people. A lot. People would get really annoyed with me. And I would get really upset, because it was my dream to go to Silicon Valley and there were several times I would sob my heart out.”
As human beings we are tribal beings, our survival and advancement on this planet has been nothing short of a miracle, a miracle that simply wouldn’t have been possible if we hadn’t learned to communicate and work in tribes, assimulating our experience and knowledge, carefully encoding words into pictograms and then into sophisticated alphabet, we began writing all that we knew on animal skins and then paper, passing on our knoweledge and stories to the next generation and then the next, helping us learn from our ancestors and build on what we knew rather than having to reinvent the wheel the whole time.
Language is the glue that binds our human communities together, while communication is an art form. Once a rare talent possessed by a select few, the ability to convey complex ideas to the masses has historically sparked movements such as democracy, capitalism, and scientific inquiry. Today, this art of communication is accessible to all, as advancements in technology have democratized access to platforms for sharing ideas. Just as the printing press revolutionized mass communication, the advent of analytical machines and artificial intelligence has further democratized the dissemination of information and ideas.
AI is revolutionizing what was once considered exclusive to the exceptionally gifted, opening doors for individuals to achieve unprecedented growth and financial prosperity. Particularly for women, AI is breaking down barriers in traditionally male-dominated technical fields, offering opportunities to shape technology for the better and promote greater equality worldwide.
A remarkable example of AI's transformative power is found in the journey of Alysia Silberg, who overcame poverty and violence in her native South Africa. Much like Elon Musk, she found solace and opportunity in technology, viewing AI as a powerful equalizer. Alysia's story exemplifies the profound impact of AI on her life:
“My goal was to communicate in a way that I was being authentic, from my own voice, but at the same time, the person receiving the message, they were understanding where I was coming from. And so the AI became this filter, which enabled me to communicate on an ongoing basis so I could adapt. This enabled me to speak differently, engage differently and this changed my entire trajectory of my journey of Silicon Valley. I would have failed and I would have failed in a very painful way if I didn’t have the AI to help me”
So what can we learn from Alysia’s experience?
Many of us have encountered ChatGPT, a technology increasingly utilized by companies to generate various types of content, from copywriting to research papers and even books. However, it quickly becomes apparent that the output from ChatGPT often lacks uniqueness and diversity.
The last thing we want is to succumb to homogeneity, feeling like we fit in but fail to contribute meaningfully. The world does not need another wave of generic content that stifles our individual voices and stories. Embracing our uniqueness and authenticity is crucial in enriching our collective narrative and making a genuine impact on the world.
Begin with yourself. Take time to explore what makes you uniquely you. Despite any doubts others may cast upon you, spend introspective moments uncovering the subtle nuances and flashes of brilliance within your consciousness. These are the magical impressions that define your story. Engage in regular journaling sessions, allowing your thoughts to flow freely onto the page. Observe patterns, themes, and insights that emerge – this is the essence of your narrative, the beacon that will draw your tribe to you.
Harness the power of AI. Initiate conversations with tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, or Bing's Co-Pilot. Share your fears, worries, ideas, and inspirations, and pay attention to how the AI responds. Many find awe and embark on their AI journey through meaningful dialogues with these technologies.
Personalize the AI experience. Train the AI with your own data, such as journal entries or blog posts, to familiarize it with your tone and style of communication. By feeding it raw text and requesting refinements tailored to your needs – whether it's adjusting the tone to be more friendly, formal, optimistic, assertive, or cooperative – you'll have a trusted companion to help convey the true essence of your message to your dream audience.
Try This Prompt to Generate Your First AI SEO Optimised Content for Your Website:
Hey ChatGPT,
I'm a {GIVE CONTEXT ABOUT YOURSELF I.E. I am a wellness entrepreneur} creating website copy to attract organic traffic and build trust with my audience. I'm not as confident in my writing skills as I'd like to be, and I'm especially struggling with:
Finding the right tone: I want my copy to be informative, engaging, and authentically reflect my brand voice. It should resonate with my ideal client, who is typically a [describe your ideal client, e.g., busy mom seeking natural health solutions].
Formulating clear instructions: I need help crafting strong calls to action that encourage visitors to take the next step, whether it's subscribing to my newsletter, booking a consultation, or purchasing a product.
I'm not too concerned about the technical aspects of prompt engineering, but I would appreciate your guidance on achieving the following goals:
Boost website traffic: Help me create 1 SEO-optimized content that ranks higher in search results for relevant keywords related to the wellness industry (e.g., [list some relevant keywords]).
Convert visitors to subscribers: Craft compelling calls to action that encourage visitors to join my email list and stay connected.
Build credibility and trust: Help me establish myself as an expert in my field and create a strong connection with my audience.
Here's some additional information about my brand and target audience:
Brand values: [list your brand values, e.g., empowerment, sustainability, holistic health]
Target audience: [describe your ideal client in detail, including demographics, interests, pain points]
Website topic: [describe the main topic of your website, e.g., yoga classes, essential oils, healthy recipes]
Can you help me generate website copy that addresses these goals and resonates with my audience?
**1) Fill in the [WHAT YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT, GIVE CONTEXT] placeholder with the topics you want to discuss.** **Think:** **What, specifically, do you want to write about?** **Be. As. Specific. As. Possible.** If Possible Give an**Example:** Instead of saying: *“I write about personal development and investing”* try “I write about helping people on their path to financial freedom through a powerful combination of mindset shifts and investment strategies. My content explores the intersection of personal growth and wealth creation, inspiring readers to reach their full potential.”
I hope this article has brought some new perspectives on your experience of AI. Let me if you give the prompt a go and what your experience has been. Are there any techniques you use to keep your authentic voice whilst working with AI to create written pieces?