AI is coming for your job next 😟
AI is wiping these people out of work 😰
Within 5 years, AI will destroy these careers 😱
People loooooove to click on sensationalist, put-a-stake-in-the-ground headlines.
And the algorithm just feeds the drama.
No one is clicking on headlines like “AI is changing the way these 5 job roles go about their work.”
But here’s the boring truth: AI is a support, not a solution.
This special bonus podcast episode is actually a training: “AI & Your Copywriting Career: What You NEED to Know to Use AI to Your Advantage, Wow Your Clients, & Keep Landing High-Paying Work.”
In it, Kate and I are are sharing ways you can use AI to work smarter, including prompts that will help your productivity while still wowing your clients.
No career field looks like it did 10 years ago—or even 5 years ago. Instagram, TikTok, heck—the internet itself!!—are so new in the scheme of advertising and copywriting.
People have had to evolve from expensive photoshoots to more quick-and-dirty content to meet the cadence of the social media cycle.
Copywriting has been around for decades (Google it, and some people would argue *centuries*). Copywriting is not going away, just evolving like everything else.
Adaptability will always be crucial in any field. But lucky for us, the core principles of copywriting (features vs benefits, a clear CTA, etc.) remain the same.
Ready to start using AI to your advantage?
TUNE IN: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Stitcher
Looking for closed captioning or a transcript? Watch the episode on YouTube!
A Sneak Peek at the Episode
[01:25] Everybody’s talking about AI today and everybody’s nervous that AI is gonna take the jobs of everyone, especially the writers. Spoiler alert, it won’t. We’ll take you through what AI is really helpful for. How you can use it to your advantage.
[04:11] Copywriting is marketing and advertising writing. It is a very specific type of writing, and it takes some training to do it.
[06:37] There are some very smart people working on AI, but even as it develops, there’s still some fundamental problems with it and some fundamental things that it can’t do, that it cannot replace us with.
[08:17] AI only generates outputs by using what’s already out there. It can’t come up with anything new.
[09:27] Humans, we crave new, we don’t want to see the same old, boring thing. It’s not going to stick out amongst a sea of other things.
[10:01] Copywriters strategize. We partner with our clients. We help them delve into their businesses offerings and clients. And it can take a project in a whole different direction. AI can’t do that. It can’t collaborate with your clients.
[11:15] AI is only as good as its input and output. And I won’t get too ahead, too far ahead. So if a client is only thinking in this very narrow sphere, then that’s all that they’re going to get from the output.
[13:36] Hotjar case study: Will AI replace human writers? They had a human write an article on a topic, and then AI write on the same exact topic, and then they monitored the results.
[21:10] What is the actual challenge you’re facing, and then find an AI tool to help if it makes sense. So each tool has its own benefits. There’s no one AI tool to rule them all.
[22:32] If you think it can solve a pain point you have, great. But if it’s not actually solving a problem you have then skip it on your time.
[24:53] Fathom for taking notes as back up. Number one, it doesn’t replace your own notes. You should still be taking notes. You need to be still taking down the most important takeaways from your client conversations. Make sure your client is comfortable with this being present in a meeting, especially which includes confidential information.
[27:46] Motion: So it uses AI to plot your project tasks onto your calendar and tells you what to do right now and what’s next.
[29:17] ChatGPT: Use AI to develop concepts, not sentences. So ask it for bullet points answers and notes on topics.
[30:17] If you are faced with blank page syndrome, this can be a great way to just start some ideas and get going. So ask it to suggest angles or approaches based on your audience.
[30:36] Generating video transcripts and recaps. If you have say, 120 minute long video and you’re like, Ooh, I just really need the recap of that. It can certainly give you some bullet points.
[31:40] Think of it as a conversation versus just a one and done, like a Google search type of thing. You can ask it. Follow up based on your previous query.
[34:15] Brainstorming questions for an interview. And it might give you some good preparation, good questions to prepare for.
[39:05] So in terms of the input though, you might ask it to change its tone. You can ask it to speak casually. You can ask it if it was explaining concept to a five-year-old. Ask it to cite its sources that can be a great way for you to then go to those sources and do your follow up work on that.
[40:47] Be wary. You will likely need to rework the output for tone. Check it for plagiarism ’cause man, can AI just spit out, straight up copied text. Check it for bias and again, avoid putting potential information into tools.
[43:39] Sandwich analogy: step one- (human intelligence) being the input. You need that strategy, that creative thinking. The prompt needs to be real good. Step two- AI generates the content. And step three- (human intelligence) fact check, sense check, craft new stuff, and rework.
[44:45] Effective AI prompts, from OpenAI: Think about how you would write a word problem for a middle schooler to solve. A well-written prompt provides enough information for the model to know what you want and how it should respond.
[46:43] List of sample prompts for client research, audience research, social posts, content, and subject lines. And then keep a running list of prompts that you find work well for you. Keep testing, keep iterating.
[54:31] For transparency, ask your clients if they have policies around how AI is used and explain to them how you use it. How does it benefit them? Helps you productivity, which means you deliver stronger copy faster.
Must-Hear Takeaways
As with every episode, we highly encourage you to listen to the entire conversation! But here are a few of the highlights:
“Everybody saying, the writing jobs are gonna be gone within five years. The same person saying, oh! no, actually, the quality is not as good as a human.” – Nicki
“AI can’t connect on an emotional level with your clients the way that we can.” – Kate
“Your messaging, a business’s messaging is integral to its success and the vast majority of business owners understand that.” – Nicki
“Shouldn’t we instead use AI to do the admin work? So that the humans have more time to do the things that humans are uniquely good at.” – Nicki
“Experiment with things, put time constraints around how much time you’re spending using these tools.” – Kate
“Much of the strategic work of copywriting happens before you even start writing. It’s asking the right questions to understand the audience, the challenge. It’s understanding the goal of the project. What does your client actually wanna get out of it?” – Kate
“Note on transparency, clients are paying you, they’re expecting you to do the work, not AI. That does not mean AI tools can’t be part of your process.” – Kate
Mentioned in the Episode
Related Links
Get an *Exclusive* Bonus Recording!
Tell us what you love about the podcast and what you hope to hear next! When you do, you can get access to an exclusive bonus recording featuring five wildly successful entrepreneurs who share what they do (and don’t!) look for when hiring copywriters. You do not want to miss it!
Get all the details on how to get your recording here »
About the Build Your Business Podcast
Ready to turn your love of writing into a successful copywriting career?
Join professional copywriters Nicki Krawczyk and Kate Sitarz to get the tips, tools, and training to help you become a copywriter and build a thriving business of your own. Nicki and Kate have 20+ and 10+ years of experience, respectively, writing copy for multi-billion-dollar companies, solopreneurs, and every size business in between.
Whether you want to land an on-staff job, freelance full-time and work from wherever you want, or make extra money with a side hustle, the best place to start learning is right here.
