When a rationale marketer first sees ChatGPT or Bard crank out a blog post in 30 seconds, fear and wonder mix in equal parts. How did it do that? Am I expendable?

But I saw a quote online that I think sums up the situation correctly. It was, “Marketers won’t be replaced by AI. Marketers who don’t use AI will be replaced by marketers who use AI.” Given that, are you learning exactly how to use it to your advantage?

In today’s digital landscape, AI-powered tools like ChatGPT have emerged as game-changers in content creation, keyword research, and other SEO-related tasks. While these cutting-edge technologies offer immense potential, they aren’t without their challenges.

As you begin to incorporate AI tools into your content strategy, it’s crucial to ensure that the generated content not only meets your standards but also adheres to best practices to avoid any potential pitfalls.

To help you navigate this brave new world of AI-assisted content writing, we’ve compiled some best practices to help you enhance your AI content creation process.

7 Tips for Writing Great AI Content

Think of AI as your pen. It’s mightier than the sword, but you still need to control it. Without proper control, you’ll create a lot of keyword-rich, idea-free pablum that won’t drive your marketing objectives.

With that, here are seven must-follow tips for generating better artificial-intelligence-generated content:

1. Decide what you think first

This is so important. Yes, ChatGPT (or similar products like Jasper and Bard) will generate content on most any topic with very general commands. And it will sound good at first blush. But as you read it more carefully, you’ll realize it doesn’t have any original thought. That’s because AI text generators are essentially predicting what word best goes next based on their extensive training. So, AI will generate new phrasings of existing ideas, but not new ideas.

If, however, you know what you or your team thinks about a particular topic, you can outline it in bullet points very quickly. Then ask AI to develop a piece (blog post, opinion piece, etc.) that makes those key points. Try it, and you’ll find much better content is produced.

2. Nail down a tone of voice

If you haven’t tried it yet, the Bing/ChatGPT plug in that can be added to the Edge Browser is really good. (In fact, we generated the image you see in this post using the Bing sidebar.) One of the things you can do with that tool is open a window to a piece of content that has the tone of voice you want to emulate. Then prompt it to write content that matches that tone of voice.

The only limitation here is that tool currently limits you to 2,000 characters of input, making it a bit difficult to combine the first tip with the second. But it’s excellent for shorter prompts.

 

3. Write a clear goal

Make sure your AI prompts are specific and can be easily understood by the reader. This way, the AI can quickly identify what it needs to do and how it should do it. Additionally, you also have to ensure that you provide a brief description of the topics you want your AI to write about.

An example goal included when writing an AI prompt would be:

“Write a blog that’s tailored for Social Media Marketers and discuss some tips on how to write better AI prompts and some good reasons why people should invest in AI tools to maximize their work.”

 

4. Use it for brainstorming

Now the prompt above in tip 3 somewhat violates tip 1 in that you haven’t yet decided what you believe on the topic. However, this sort of prompt is great early in your process as the AI will list a ton of ideas. If you use this for brainstorming instead of as a final product, you can get an excellent head start on your content generation.

5. Don’t forget tone of voice

One of the things that AI is good at is matching a particular tone of voice. Given that, when writing prompts, make sure that they are written with a specific tone of voice in mind. Or at least prompt your AI to ensure that they understand you are using a specific voice or tune it as needed.

Example tones of voice:

• Engaging
• Formal
• Professional
• Informative
• Funny
• Witty
• Inspirational
• Optimistic
• Worried
• Curious
• Friendly
• As a particular character in a book
• As a particular celebrity speaks

 

6. Include relevant keywords in prompts

Incorporate key phrases related to the subject matter of the content in order to maximize accuracy with search engine optimization (SEO). It’s helpful to use high-value keywords based on your target audience’s interests and search habits in order to make sure that the content created by AI (and you, together) is highly relevant and optimized for maximum visibility.

Consider researching your target keywords and prompt it to the AI. One example of such a prompt would be:

“Write a 500-word blog post about the benefits of adopting a plant-based diet for weight loss and overall health. Make sure to include the following target keywords: plant-based diet, weight loss, health benefits, whole foods, and nutrient-dense meals. Provide practical tips for transitioning to a plant-based lifestyle and highlight the positive impact on the environment as well.”

In this example, the AI prompt is clear, concise. This ensures that the generated content will be focused, relevant, and optimized for search engines, while addressing the interests of the target audience.

7. Be sure to cross-check carefully

While AI-generated content can be incredibly useful and timesaving, it’s essential to remember that AI tools do not always provide 100% accurate or reliable information.

Just yesterday, I asked it for a list of sources I could link to on a particular topic. The links that came back seemed great, but none of them worked when I clicked them. After I asked it for more recent links (and checked them), I asked it if it made up the links. Yes, it responded, only then telling me that it didn’t have the power to cite links like that.

Other times, it will be just plain factually wrong. Somewhat famously, Google’s Bard made a factual error during its first demo to reporters.

By taking the time to cross-check your AI-generated content with other reliable sources, you can ensure that your content is accurate, trustworthy, and valuable to your readers. This extra layer of diligence will not only enhance the quality of your content but also solidify your reputation as a credible source of information in your niche.

Finally

Embracing AI for content creation can be a game-changer for businesses and individuals looking to streamline their content production process while maintaining high-quality standards. But it’s up to you to find what’s interesting in your industry first and use the AI tools to help you better express it.

Remember, the key to success lies in striking the right balance between leveraging AI-generated content and applying human creativity, expertise, and judgment. By doing so, you can ensure that your content not only meets SEO requirements but also captivates readers and leaves a lasting impression.

READ MORE: How to Write Better Prompts for AI Writing: Social Content

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