I assume you’ll be able to say I’m an early adopter relating to using AI. I wouldn’t think about myself an AI skilled by any stretch of the creativeness, however I’ve seemed for methods to leverage it since ChatGPT first grew to become a factor in 2022.
This isn’t with out some resistance, in fact. Change and evolution are arduous. However I’m additionally acutely aware of the numerous risks of AI. Past the truth that automation might make many promoting capabilities irrelevant, there are model dangers associated to low-quality content material and inventive slop.
So I’ve ventured into this new world with an open thoughts, however cautiously. I wouldn’t bury my head within the sand. However I additionally wouldn’t use it carelessly in methods I could finally remorse.
Now that we’re almost three years into this, I believed it is perhaps helpful to share how I’m utilizing AI at present, as each an natural content material and Meta promoting companion.
Basic Method and Considerations
First, let’s define my common strategy to leveraging AI and my total issues. In relation to utilizing instruments like these for what you are promoting, it’s vital that you simply first map out the potential dangers, rewards, and total consolation degree.
The market is flooded with AI-first instruments, and even instruments which will don’t have anything to do with AI however try to money in on the excitement. You may’t, and shouldn’t, use all of them.
With that in thoughts, right here is how I’ve approached utilizing AI instruments…
1. AI is not going to exchange me as a content material creator.
We are actually within the fifteenth yr of my enterprise, and a complete lot has modified throughout that point. However content material creation makes my enterprise go. Weblog posts, movies, and podcast episodes appeal to folks to me.
To be clear, I completely might use AI to exchange me as a content material creator. We’ve seen how straightforward it’s for the reason that Web is flooded with AI-generated web sites, movies, and social media interactions. However I don’t need that.
I get pleasure from this half. I don’t desire a device to create this content material for me. Not solely is there a threat of shedding my distinctive voice within the course of, I worth the problem of content material creation. It workouts my mind, and I don’t wish to eradicate that.
2. Use AI to extend accuracy and effectivity.
I’m going to proceed creating my very own content material, however I can use AI to make me higher at it. It’s useful if it helps me keep away from errors and skip or pace up steps that in any other case restricted me.
Examples embody article enhancing, video enhancing, and brainstorming content material concepts to get out of bottlenecks. My content material will nonetheless undeniably be me with my stamp, voice, and distinctive fashion. AI is the device to assist me do it higher and extra precisely.
3. Use AI to exchange duties I don’t wish to do.
I’m not speaking about changing folks I’d usually rent. I’m speaking particularly in regards to the duties that I’ve at all times accomplished myself that I’m both not that good at or don’t significantly get pleasure from. These can be excessive precedence candidates for utilizing AI.
4. Keep away from slop.
Now that the preliminary novelty of AI has worn off, the cracks are far more evident than they might have been initially. We’re flooded with AI-generated slop: Social media posts and feedback, articles, photos, and movies. It’s slop as a result of it’s straightforward to create, produced at excessive volumes, and low high quality.
That is the place we enter that difficult center floor of AI. Sure, it’s nice for creating content material at the next quantity. However the hazard is that we find yourself creating extra for the sake of making extra, and the low-quality content material turns into a model threat.
I’m reminded day by day of what I don’t wish to be on social media. I perceive the attract of utilizing AI to create extra content material and interact extra. However a lot of these items is templated trash that lacks any soul, and it’s apparent.
Due to how straightforward it’s to create content material now, it’s on one hand troublesome to face out as a result of it’s all so watered down. However then again, human-guided connection feels a lot extra helpful now.
And I perceive that sooner or later AI shall be higher and the non-human pushed content material shall be harder to acknowledge. However for now, human-created content material stands out among the many slop.
With this as a basis, listed below are some particular ways in which I’m leveraging AI for each natural content material and promoting technique…
Natural Content material Help
I’ve run a content-driven enterprise for greater than 14 years now. Whereas fairly a bit has modified, I’m additionally very process-oriented. I’ve a really particular weekly content material schedule that entails repeatable steps. It’s a cadence that occurs each week, and I’ve discovered methods to churn out content material at a really excessive fee by sticking to my course of.
However there comes some extent the place you’ll be able to’t presumably get extra environment friendly with out sacrificing high quality. A minimum of, that’s true with out some assist. “Assist” might be employed or AI-assisted.
Right here’s a listing of the assorted methods I’m utilizing AI to assist with content material and web site expertise…
1. Web site chatbots.
I noticed a possibility to enhance person expertise on my web site utilizing AI early on. One of many challenges is that I’ve created a lot content material that it may be overwhelming to guests searching for assist. An AI chatbot educated on my content material might be a useful extension of me.
After going by many iterations of instruments, I now get assist from the next two chatbots…
JonBot for Members-Solely Entry: This is perhaps my favourite use of AI. JonBot is an internet site companion that’s educated on greater than 700 pages of my content material. I’ve refined it constantly throughout the previous two years to ensure that it doesn’t stray away from my very own content material and philosophies whereas being certain it’s not giving outdated recommendation.
JonBot was initially out there to all guests of jonloomer.com, however it merely grew to become too widespread. I began operating into utilization limits and elevated prices. It additionally grew to become evident that folks have been utilizing it in methods I had not anticipated to assist run their very own companies.
Because of this, I moved JonBot to a PHC – Elite membership profit. And that’s been an excellent determination since members who don’t wish to ask our group numerous questions can as a substitute bounce concepts off of JonBot.
Content material Assistant: Once I eliminated JonBot from jonloomer.com, I needed to exchange it with one thing scaled down. It could assist information folks, however it wouldn’t be the conversational useful resource like JonBot. If you happen to’re searching for content material that may assist you to with a particular kind of drawback, this bot will advocate a sequence of associated hyperlinks.
To do that, my Content material Assistant is just educated on the titles, hyperlinks, and descriptions of my content material. It’s not allowed to offer recommendation. And for those who someway trick it into providing you with recommendation, don’t anticipate it to be good recommendation because it’s not really educated on the textual content of my content material.
2. Running a blog Workflow.
I’ve written nicely over 1,000 weblog posts on these pages. I’ve a system now, however ChatGPT has turn out to be my companion to assist me by some bottlenecks.
Apparent Spelling and Grammatical Strategies: Once I’m accomplished writing the draft of a weblog publish, I’ll copy that textual content and paste it right into a ChatGPT venture that helps with this job. I don’t need ChatGPT to rewrite my complete article or change my voice. As a substitute, I’ll first ask it to focus on particular areas of enchancment associated to apparent spelling and grammatical errors.
By doing it this manner, I can undergo every suggestion and make the acutely aware determination of whether or not the change is healthier than the unique. In some circumstances, I’ll preserve the unique to protect my voice. In others, I’ll see the necessity for enchancment, however make an adjustment totally different than what was really helpful.
Title Strategies: Arising with a title is one among my least favourite issues. It must be Search engine optimization-friendly, descriptive, and provocative sufficient to encourage a click on. However I additionally don’t need click-baity headlines both. I’ll desire boring and descriptive, however I additionally perceive the worth of simply sufficient thriller to get consideration.
One of many preliminary duties I give ChatGPT once I present my article draft is to give you 5 title concepts. Over time, it’s additionally come to know my fashion and choice right here as nicely.
Most often, I’ll have already got a working title in thoughts. Generally I’ll use one of many options. Different occasions, I’ll use the options as inspiration to enhance my title. In any other case, I’d simply keep on with the unique.
150-Character Metadata Descriptions: That is a kind of braindead duties that I might do myself, however I’d moderately not. Since ChatGPT already has the content material of my article, it could possibly generate the Search engine optimization description for me.
That is one I don’t spend that a lot time worrying about. It doesn’t should be good. I have a tendency to make use of it and transfer on.
URL Slug: I might simply publish my weblog publish with out altering the URL slug. However I notice there’s some worth in what’s used right here. So I ask ChatGPT for a suggestion once I present my preliminary draft.
Focus Key Phrase: I take advantage of the Yoast Search engine optimization device, and it asks for a spotlight key phrase. I’m not an Search engine optimization skilled, and I’m not counting on ChatGPT to essentially be an skilled both. However this is likely one of the issues I ask for once I present my preliminary draft.
Featured Picture: I’m not a designer. Whereas I work with a tech companion for main design initiatives, I’ve by no means employed somebody to supply issues like featured photos for weblog posts. A technique round this previously is that my design companion created a layered template that offered a number of choices for background colours and icons. And I used that for years.
However that finally turns into repetitive. I’ve labored with ChatGPT so as to add some selection to my featured photos with out creating one thing that’s utterly inconsistent with what I’ve accomplished previously.
Granted, this is likely one of the extra irritating makes use of of ChatGPT because it’s not at all times significantly responsive (it took approach too lengthy to create the picture for this weblog publish). It’s going to overlook the side ratio I want or create photos that simply don’t reduce it. It’s taken a number of refining, however it’s usually been worthwhile.
Social Media Put up: Normally after writing a weblog publish, I’m fairly emotionally exhausted (simply take a look at how lengthy this publish is!). Whereas I usually write my very own social media posts, I’ll ask ChatGPT for options that I could or might not use.
3. Podcast Workflow.
Whereas The Pubcast has technically been round since 2012, I rededicated myself to it this yr with a special format. I publish one 5-10 minute episode each Wednesday.
Whereas I rent somebody to edit and publish the episode, I nonetheless must give you matters, script the episode, and file.
There are two important methods I take advantage of AI to assist…
Subject Brainstorming: Each week, I publish one weblog publish, one podcast episode, and three short-form video posts (with textual content). Whereas there’ll inevitably be overlap, there additionally isn’t duplication of content material. I wish to leverage every distinctive format to get essentially the most out of a subject.
It may be particularly troublesome developing with distinctive podcast episodes that don’t overlap an excessive amount of with my weblog posts. I take advantage of ChatGPT to assist me break by that block.
ChatGPT already is aware of my writing fashion and the matters I write about because it helps me edit my weblog posts. However what I’ll do is create a immediate that features a reminder of the record of matters of all content material I’ve revealed this yr throughout all codecs. And the objective is to give you a singular angle for a podcast that’s according to my fashion.
Right here’s the start of that immediate…
After some back-and-forth for clarification, ChatGPT returned a listing of 5 concepts. Of these 5, I preferred one…
As is nearly at all times the case, I didn’t take this define word-for-word, however it put me on the trail to scripting and publishing this episode.
Episode Web page Transcription: As soon as I script and file the episode, I additionally depend on AI to assist with transcription. There’s a piece of my web site devoted to my podcast. Every new episode consists of an embedded audio participant, hyperlinks to the place you’ll be able to subscribe, and a transcription.
Whereas I might simply paste the uncooked transcript, I needed one thing that’s extra readable in paragraph format. So I created a venture in ChatGPT the place I set up guidelines on what liberties it could possibly take with barely rewording the transcript to be readable.
It’s taken fairly a little bit of refinement and occasional correction, however it often does an excellent job now.
4. E-mail Advertising.
Listing constructing and electronic mail advertising and marketing are large components of my enterprise. Actually, I’d say that it’s a partnership between Meta advertisements and electronic mail that makes my enterprise viable.
My electronic mail advertising and marketing technique is moderately advanced, combining automated sequences and manually delivered broadcasts. There are a few areas the place AI has been significantly useful on this space…
The Loop: My major lead magnet is a weekly electronic mail subscription known as The Loop, which summarizes all of my latest content material from the previous week. There are literally a few methods I’ve used ChatGPT to assist with this.
First, I noticed earlier this yr that this subscription wanted to be my highest precedence lead magnet. The issue was that I had positioned it very generically as “Weekly Recaps.” So the very first thing I did was had a protracted back-and-forth with ChatGPT to give you a brand new identify and emblem. What I went with was one among MANY potentialities that ChatGPT ran by me.
However I additionally use it to assist with assembling that weekly broadcast. The construction is easy with a numbered record of titles, hyperlinks and paragraph descriptions. I take all of these from the emails I already despatched throughout the week for anybody who subscribed to getting these particular alerts. I give ChatGPT this record, and ask for a fast overview for spelling and grammatical errors in addition to options for an electronic mail topic, preview message, and intro.
As soon as once more, I’m not taking what ChatGPT provides me blindly, however it helps me transfer rapidly.
Gross sales Copy Brainstorming: I used to be by no means educated in gross sales. I’ve a Philosophy diploma at a liberal arts school, and I’d think about gross sales to be my least favourite a part of the job. But it surely’s additionally required, in fact.
Traditionally, that has meant a really delicate gross sales strategy. And that’s usually labored for me. However there are occasions once I know I can and must be higher and do extra to ask for the sale.
That got here into play a few occasions this yr once I had a protracted back-and-forth with ChatGPT a few new promotion. We mentioned my objectives, the ache factors I needed to deal with, and the precise product options I needed to function.
It gave me an incredible start line for one thing that I in any other case don’t have a number of confidence doing. And it additionally did nicely!
An vital level in it “doing nicely,” although, is that I’m at all times concerned on this course of. I’ve mentioned it a number of occasions, however I don’t routinely settle for what ChatGPT provides me. Generally it’s a place to begin. Generally we begin over utterly. Generally I throw it within the trash and create one thing fully by myself, the quaint approach.
The principle factor is that utilizing AI helps preserve the method shifting ahead.
Meta Promoting Help
I notice that some Meta advertisers are embracing AI fully, utilizing it to automate and iterate at scale. I’m not there but. I really feel strongly that human involvement continues to be wanted for now.
However listed below are examples of how AI is concerned in my Meta promoting now…
1. Marketing campaign Planning.
Due to Andromeda, we’re in a brand new period of marketing campaign planning. For years, advertisers centered their time and vitality on marketing campaign building, concentrating on methods, and different levers whereas the advertisements themselves have been (probably incorrectly) seen as a secondary issue. That’s modified now with Meta requesting artistic diversification to get essentially the most out of your promoting.
Meaning shifting past the unofficial six-ad restrict and creating advertisements catered to totally different buyer personas, ache factors, product options, and extra. It means creating advertisements utilizing totally different artistic types and codecs, leveraging static photos, movies, and carousels whereas optimizing for various placements and side ratios.
All of this may be overwhelming, particularly if marketing campaign planning doesn’t come naturally to you. I’ve used ChatGPT to work by this preliminary planning to assist isolate the precise folks and ache factors my advertisements must be chatting with and the assorted angles I ought to take.
2. Brainstorming Major Textual content.
As soon as I give you a plan, I work with ChatGPT to execute. I’ll usually generate the preliminary major textual content and headline for every advert, after which I’ll have ChatGPT generate textual content variation options which can be according to my fashion and voice.
3. Photos or Artistic Inspiration.
As mentioned earlier, I’m not a designer and the artistic aspect could be a vital bottleneck, particularly as soon as we begin creating advertisements in bulk to fulfill Andromeda. However AI may be useful.
I’ll trip with ChatGPT on a artistic idea, and it’ll generate an preliminary mockup. I’ll both work with it to get it refined or take it as inspiration to develop one thing new in Photoshop.
4. Background Era.
Meta has native generative instruments that may use your authentic picture as inspiration for utterly new photos or photos with AI-generated backgrounds.
Personally, I’ve but to make use of any of Meta’s utterly AI-generated photos, since they’re the dictionary definition of slop…
However I completely do choose acceptable AI-generated backgrounds…
These present a straightforward solution to create extra variations.
5. Benefit+ Artistic.
There are two components of Benefit+ Artistic, relying on the extent of journey you want.
Account Stage: If you wish to throw warning to the wind, you’ll be able to choose into testing new AI technology options that can impression fewer than 5% of your advert impressions. That is discovered inside your Promoting Settings, and there are presently 11 such options which may be examined.
I go away this on.
Advert Stage: And naturally, there are the assorted Benefit+ Artistic options that you may activate or off on the advert degree.
Whereas I don’t go away all of those on by default, I want an excellent purpose to show one off. Most are comparatively innocent, if not useful.
Effectivity and Scale whereas Limiting Danger
As I mentioned on the prime, I’m not an AI skilled. However I additionally don’t bury my head within the sand and hope it goes away. I wish to use it in ways in which make me higher.
Total, I’d say that one of the simplest ways to outline my use of AI with content material and promoting is utilizing it to extend my effectivity and scale whereas limiting threat. I don’t wish to settle for AI-generated photos and textual content blindly. I stay an vital driver of the selections made and instructions taken.
We’re additionally at some extent proper now the place skipping the human aspect might be harmful, if not careless. However these instruments will proceed to enhance, as will our belief in them.
Your Flip
How do you presently leverage AI for content material and promoting?
Let me know within the feedback beneath!
