I’m sure you already know what ChatGPT is – so there’s no point to explaining that here. What you might find interesting, is the fact that it had 1 800 000 000 visits last month. Now that’s impressive, isn’t it? Yeah, I know, it surely is. ChatGPT is extremely popular, no doubt about that. But still, it’s not better than a true wordsmith. Why? I’m glad you asked. Here’s why.
Tailor-made solutions are the best. Why? Because there is no such thing as “the best solution for everyone”. People are different. They have different needs and expectations. And the truth is that their decisions are mostly triggered by emotions. But how does this relate to ChatGPT?
Well, the AI forges the content at a speed of lightning (almost), but that content is generic. It’s flat. There’s no context. There are no strong emotions there. What I mean is that writing is about one thing. And that thing is “thinking”.
You’re a copywriter, and you’re worried that ChatGPT will get you out of the game? If you’re good, you’re safe. AI can write loads of generic content, and if that’s what you do for a living, you may think of getting yourself another source of income. See, the true wordsmith understands his audience and crafts content with a rock-solid purpose in mind.
ChatGPT can be useful for getting that mundane task of research done, but still – you have to verify the generated information. While ChatGPT can sweep through the massive loads of data in a blink of an eye, you have to remember about all that fake news and stuff out there. AI doesn’t bother to check if the information is true. You just get a mix of everything, adjusted to the given prompt. Oh, and one more thing – don’t expect that AI will stick to the brand voice. Human writers will.
So, you now know why ChatGPT (or any other AI) can’t write better than real players on the copywriting scene. But what do you need to be one of these players? Look, this fact will probably make some people feel outraged. You don’t need a talent for writing to be a successful copywriter. Of course, the talent comes in handy and makes things easier. But good writing requires skills, and these can be learned (by practicing). I know, you just can’t wait to read about the promised “prompts”. Here they are:
Seriously, it’s that simple. And I don’t mean crafting a text that is perfect in terms of grammar and orthography (although it would be nice if it could be – this looks professional). What I mean is that you need to create content that moves people. Something that drives them towards a certain action. You don’t write to get a Nobel Prize for literature. Well, if you do, then what are you doing here? You don’t need my help, but I appreciate that you dropped in.
Usually less is more. Like, really. Maybe not literally, if you’re crafting a long expert article, but still – reduce the length of your content. Cut the unnecessary parts. You don’t see them? Let your piece rest for a while, come back to it later. Give it to someone to read. Does it drive any emotions? Does it push the reader to make a specific action? Is there anything that brings confusion? Don't be afraid of feedback – constructive critics is always good.
Hey, it’s not about that myth that people don’t read long texts, they really do, but they do that only when the text is very intriguing for them, so they can get to the end of a very long sentence and catch the point. Did you get that all? I would go in TLDR mode in the middle. If you didn't – whoa, congrats. It’s about human attention capacity. When the sentence is longer than 15–17 words, people lose the point. Moreover, the probability of abandoning your creation is getting higher with each long sentence. You don’t want that to happen.
This closely relates to the previous “prompt”. Be as precise as you can be. Use short sentences. Use short words, wherever you can. Don’t go over the human attention capacity. Don’t describe a product or service in details – no one is truly interested in that. Focus on customer’s needs. Write about how that product/service can change user’s life. And what makes it better than other products/services in the market. There is always an advantage. Even if it looks like a disadvantage at first glance. Example? Sure! Keep reading.
Imagine that you’re writing about a cleaning machine. It does an impressive job, but there is just one thing about it that seems to be an issue. Namely, the machine is super-slow. How can you make it stand out in the crowd? Like, you can’t save time with this one. Yes, that’s true. But…
“Our cleaning machine is the slowest in the world. Thanks to this, it cleans surfaces very thoroughly, while other machines only brush them.”
There’s always something that can be shown as an advantage. Think out of the box. Can ChatGPT figure something like that? I don’t think so. Not yet.
Look, your text should make customer pay his hard-earned money for a specific product or service. And that means a specific cost for that customer. So, you have to be specific when you write about that product or service. Let’s make a small experiment. What comes to your mind, when you read that word: thing. At best, you think of a sci-fi horror classic movie (I love it!). Otherwise, you can't think of anything specific, can you? Let’s go further.
Imagine a fruit. Was that a mango? Probably not (or you are a mango enthusiast). Now visualize an apple. That is much more specific, but still not precise. Now imagine a green apple Granny Smith. Do you see it? So now you also see what I’m talking about. If your copy can't hit the right emotional note in your audience, you need to make it short and super-precise. Otherwise, no one can relate to your content. Don’t waste your time on writing generic and flat copy. AI can do that much faster.
