What's AI got to do with it?
Turns out, everything
Last week I promised you a post on writing techniques to replicate one shots, or long takes.
BUUUUUUUT I’m not going to do that, for a couple of reasons.
Squirrel! 🐿️ I have a new topic I’m desperate to talk about (more below).
The structure for the long shot techniques post is really freaking hard. Explaining why that’s the case is actually a post all in itself that I’ll write after I finally figure out how to do it. But it’s definitely not something I can rush this week.
AI rant (but a bit different)
It’s so cliche for writers to rant about AI and I don’t want to do that. I (don’t think) you’ll see me railing against posts railing against em dashes any time soon. (Although I have strong feelings about this, email me if you really want to hear the full fury.)
Instead of focusing on audience-facing copy being written by AI, however, I want to look at something that affects us copywriters far more. When clients use AI to complete our intake forms.
This is internal, brand-building, let’s-really-understand-what-we’re-trying-to-do-here content and people are still shilling it out to AI.
High Fidelity - we need your top 5s
I know why clients do this. It’s hard to complete intake forms. We’re trying to get information directly out of your brain and sometimes that feels like we’ve inserted a surgical instrument up your nostril to do it.
But also — OMG, AI is giving us a filtered version of what’s in your brain, and a bad filtered version at that. We need the high fidelity version. WE create the filter as we move your ideas and values and purpose (and top 5 lists) from your brain into messaging that will help you sell (and differentiate you from your competitors).
The next most likely word is NOT going to cut it. Let the experts at it.
*******Okay, I’m getting ranty again, and I know that because I’ve started shouting at you, dear reader. And you already know this frustration, you probably rant about it too. But now I’m finished and ready to move on to what we can do to fix this AI mess.******
Let’s ditch the short circuit
So, how do we copywriters fix this? How do we ditch the filter and connect directly with client’s brains?
As I love to do when I’m trying to figure out a new problem in my business, I talked to another copywriter. Up to listen to my ranty take on this was Steph Laffy who’s also been dealing with this issue.
The Goldilocks Problem
It used to be hard to get clients to write much on intake forms. Let’s face it, we’re the writers, they wouldn’t be hiring us if this came easy. But Steph pointed out something I’ve been dealing with too — huge swathes of content coming back on intake forms.
The last time this happened to me (for a basic, 4 page website for a not-yet-up-and-running coach) I got thirty pages of information. Steph said it didn’t take long for her initial excitement that clients wanted to download their brain onto her intake form to realize that it wasn’t their brain. We all know the quantity of, well, often useless, content AI can produce. That was what was happening here.
And while we both sympathize with clients who try to use AI to help with this process, it is actually hindering us creating good copy. We’re back to square one, ie the Google search we did to find out about their business after the intake call.
Lawyer hat time! Let’s disclaim
I am thinking of creating a disclaimer to put on the top of my intake form — no AI allowed. Steph agreed this might work, but was concerned clients who did want to journal out their thoughts or use AI in a thoughtful way might be put off by those boundaries. And I get her point. We don’t want them to think less is more and not write anything.
I really don’t want clients to feel judged before they’ve even started in on this process. That leads to them shutting down, not opening up so we can find the heart of what we want to write about.
Or talk it out?
When I got those 30 pages in for a website that took me a few hours? I ditched the AI drivel and scheduled an hour with the client to talk face to face. Sometimes it just needs them to say the messy things and let us turn them into words. (Hi, brand messaging!)
But that client had already been through a whole brand strategy process with the designer. Steph pointed out that on initial calls, clients don’t always feel comfortable to jump right into their existential thoughts on their biz baby’s purpose. Does that mean we need another call to extract what we used to get in writing? And if so, do we increase our prices to lead people by the brain hand through this?
What are you doing about it?
Please, jump in the comments and let me know how you’re addressing this (or how you plan to). I’m afraid I don’t have an easy answer, but I think we can crowdsource a working solution — at least until AI changes up on us again.
Reminder: Brand Messaging is Best
One final thought on this mess — it really highlights to me that brand messaging strategy is key. That’s what clients are missing that’s leading to them pulling 30 pages from AI in the first place.
If you don’t already do brand messaging strategy, then it’s time to learn. And the truth is, you’re probably doing it intuitively right now anyway (if you get good client input).
It’s the foundation of a brand’s voice, their positioning, and will help you get to converting copy faster. And I believe it’s an easier sell than ever right now as you show clients that thoughtful, expert-created strategy is what you feed AI to get anything half-way relevant out of it.
If you don’t have your own brand messaging dialed (what copywriter does?!) and also maybe if you want to learn how to use this with clients, then I have an offer for you. It’s the Meta Brand Messaging Guide! I help you build the messaging strategy for your copywriting business in a way that it can be plugged into AI.
(Hint, even if you don’t want to use AI, it will still make it crystal clear how you want to talk about your business on social, your website, and on discovery calls. And you can use the AI bit as a selling point for potential clients.)
. . . then steal my stuff
It’s not even stealing if I know about it. Use my framework, my guide template, ask me questions as we go so you understand how to take clients through this process in your own business.
I rarely work with businesses any more, so I’m happy if creating your own brand messaging allows you to sell more. But I’m a firm believer in walking the walk, not just talking the talk. If you don’t have your own brand messaging in place, it will be more difficult to show clients how to apply it.
Stuff I’m reading-watching-listening to
📖 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I’m reading this with my 10 year old right now, and it’s so fun. If you think kid’s books mean lower readability levels and less complex emotions — think again. One of my fave Roald Dahl’s techniques is his wordplay. From the silly songs the Oompa Loompas sing to rhyming reduplication (ie the phrase Oompa Loompa), he makes the writing fun.
📺Knives Out. I wanted to enjoy this. I loved Glass Onion the sequel. But something irked me. I liked the parody of Agatha Christie, but because the move mostly lived in realism (not above it, like a parody does) I often felt jolted out of the storyworld by something that just didn’t feel realistic. See podcast below for why I think that happened.
🎧 On Story: American Psycho This is another scriptwriting podcast I love, and this episode was a banger. I haven’t watched American Psycho in years, but now I want to after hearing the screenwriter discuss the need to keep the tone incredibly tight to showcase the satire and not confuse the audience by adding in too much of the violence that was heavily prevalent in the book it was adapted from.
It’s time for recess
If you haven’t documented your brand messaging (or you have, but it’s been a while) then spend some time journaling on it this week. So often we only write for an audience, and it leads us to create within safe boundaries or to please another (the buyer’s gaze, you could say).
What do you want to say about your business when nobody’s listening and you don’t have to worry about shitty AI comments and judgy peers? Why do you do this hard thing of running a business or being freelance and not just go get a job?
Want me to create your brand messaging?
And if the idea of a Meta Brand Messaging Guide (ie one guide for you, one guide template for clients) is appealing, hit me up! I don’t have a sales page up yet, but you can have first dibs on the beta sale as I hone the process.