OK, so maybe I’m a little beyond being a “slightly” older copywriter. That’s what happens when you’ve been writing copy for over 45 years.
You also bump into something else at my age… ageism.
Yup… there is a fear among some prospective clients that I’m too old. I’m not sure what I’m too old for – or why – and so far I’ve been too polite to ask.
But yes, it stings when people look at you and make assumptions about your ability to do good work.
I take a contrary view (shocker!).
Using AI to write copy and content offers incredible productivity benefits.
But… AI output can feel dry and generic. It packs no emotional punch.
That’s why I advocate leading with a high level of emotional intelligence. At every stage of using these AI writing tools, ask yourself how to make the copy more emotionally engaging.
One of the easiest and most powerful ways to do this is to use stories. Everyone loves stories. And in the world of marketing, some of the most powerful stories are the ones that include some kind of customer transformation.
My advice to every aspiring copywriter has always been, “Step one is to listen to your audience”.
Put another way, “If you don’t know who you’re talking to, how can you know what to say?”
When you listen to your prospects and your customers, you get a feel for the emotions they bring to the table.
Identify their fears and desires, and you can speak to those emotions in your copy. Get a sense of the language they use, and you can mirror that language in your own writing.
Companies find it hard to resist the math of using AI to write at least some of their copy and content.
There are huge productivity benefits and costs savings when you compare AI-generated work with the same tasks written by human writers.
And sometimes, when writing informational content, optimized for SEO, and published in bulk, with some light human editing AI can come close to being “good enough”.
But when it’s not just about sharing information, the math changes.
There are various ways to insert emotion and emotional intelligence into your work.
But perhaps the easiest way to communicate emotion is to write from a perspective of personal experience.
On other words, weave yourself or someone else into the narrative.
Put human experience into the frame.
I use GPT-4 every day. I use it to brainstorm ideas, research topics, come up with content suggestions, and to outline longer-form content.
Once I’m done researching and outlining with GPT-4, I open up Nick-4 and look for ways to add Emotional Intelligence to whatever I’m writing. (Yup, Nick-4 is me.)
In other words, I’ll never just start writing based on the output of GPT-4 alone.
AI tools are great for improving our productivity, but they’re not good at genuine empathy, cultural sensitivity, or nuanced emotions.
They’re not human.
One of the best ways to add the human touch is to tell a story or two.