Recently my alma mater, Bentley University, sent out their winter 2023 magazine it featured a story about the “Power and Potential of Artificial Intelligence.” In it they included a quote from a student paper as well as a quote for from an AI response answering the question “What is inflation?”
Readers were asked to read both quotes and determine which one was written by a person and which one was written by AI to see if they could guess which was which. When I saw the challenge I pridefully assumed that I would be able to guess which one was written by AI by homing in on its awkward robotic voice and inevitable inaccuracies.
So, what happened?
Readers were asked to read both quotes and determine which one was written by a person and which one was written by AI to see if they could guess which was which. When I saw the challenge I pridefully assumed that I would be able to guess which one was written by AI by homing in on its awkward robotic voice and inevitable inaccuracies.
So, what happened?
Well, I was indeed immediately able to tell which one was written by AI.
But surprisingly, it wasn’t because the student example was so much better phrased or more accurate. It was because it was so much WORSE than the AI example. The AI response was accurate and well-articulated for an academic setting. The student example on the other hand was just awful!
I was shocked that a magazine for a higher institution of education would choose such a subpar student paper to quote for this example. I can only assume that this was one of the better submissions that the professor received for the assignment (which, in and of itself is really sad!). The text from the student’s paper was casual, sloppy, and lacked real substance. It wasn't simply a stylistic difference between her writing and my preferred style as a copywriter. It was clear to me that the human-written content was just lacking in form and depth in a way that the AI content wasn’t. I was floored!
And that experience made me wonder, what should you do if you “can't” write?
Focus on What’s Most Important
Usually, people with a refined skill believe that anyone can master that skill if they devote enough time to learning and perfecting it. However, I don’t believe writing just requires discipline and dedication. Sure, I think that anyone who wants to be a better writer can improve with practice, but I also think that some people are born writers – skilled storytellers and communicators that naturally have a way with words. Plus, not everyone has the time, patience, and willingness to put in the effort needed to get good. If you’re a business owner there are far more important things that you need to do every day than perfecting your persuasive writing skills.
So, what do you do if you can't write well? Do you simply just use AI to generate everything for you – to write your emails to colleagues and clients, generate your website content, develop your company's blog posts and product/service descriptions, or do you find another solution?
I think it's important to mention that my opinion of AI used to be very negative, and it has since improved as I've learned how to use the tool better to supplement my own skill set. However, I still would never recommend that someone simply use AI to write all their communications and marketing content. There's a far better solution!
Get Professional Help
Leaning on a professional copywriter or content marketer to write your content for you is going to allow you to leverage both your expertise in your field and their skillset in communicating that knowledge effectively. The result is a synergy that simply cannot be achieved through automated tools or AI powered thinking.
If you think you can't write or you don't want to write, let a professional help you. You can work together to create something that achieves your business objectives while appealing specifically to your unique audience. But the benefit doesn't simply end there! A content marketer can not only write a specific piece of content for you to fit one individual purpose but align all content within a broader marketing framework to achieve organization-wide goals and drive growth. Remember, each individual piece of content has a place in a larger network that serves the entire organization. As the old adage in marketing goes, a brand of the sum of its details and each individual piece of content is one of those details that contributes to overall brand perception. So, if you can't write, find someone who can do it for you! But, more importantly, find someone who can pull together all the different pieces of content that you're creating (written content, video, help resources, etc.) across every customer touch point to achieve something bigger.
Stay Involved
Now that doesn’t mean that you should be entirely disconnected from the content creation process, especially if you’d like to grow as a writer. Save your time and mental energy for managing the area of the company under your purview and if you want to improve as a writer look for ways that you can get involved without having to physically write all of it yourself – contribute ideas, offer to edit first drafts of content, provide helpful resources that can be referenced in the content, stay abreast of industry information that may be relevant to existing content plans. Keep one finger on the pulse of content creation and one finger on the pulse of managing your business from the front lines. Always be on the lookout for ways to grow professionally!
Next Steps
When you need professional copywriting services, please contact us. We create, promote, and distribute content on behalf of our clients across their existing customer base and in front of prospective customers to help them convert more leads, retain more customers, and improve customer satisfaction. Contact us today to find out how we can help your company take its content to the next level!
But surprisingly, it wasn’t because the student example was so much better phrased or more accurate. It was because it was so much WORSE than the AI example. The AI response was accurate and well-articulated for an academic setting. The student example on the other hand was just awful!
I was shocked that a magazine for a higher institution of education would choose such a subpar student paper to quote for this example. I can only assume that this was one of the better submissions that the professor received for the assignment (which, in and of itself is really sad!). The text from the student’s paper was casual, sloppy, and lacked real substance. It wasn't simply a stylistic difference between her writing and my preferred style as a copywriter. It was clear to me that the human-written content was just lacking in form and depth in a way that the AI content wasn’t. I was floored!
And that experience made me wonder, what should you do if you “can't” write?
Focus on What’s Most Important
Usually, people with a refined skill believe that anyone can master that skill if they devote enough time to learning and perfecting it. However, I don’t believe writing just requires discipline and dedication. Sure, I think that anyone who wants to be a better writer can improve with practice, but I also think that some people are born writers – skilled storytellers and communicators that naturally have a way with words. Plus, not everyone has the time, patience, and willingness to put in the effort needed to get good. If you’re a business owner there are far more important things that you need to do every day than perfecting your persuasive writing skills.
So, what do you do if you can't write well? Do you simply just use AI to generate everything for you – to write your emails to colleagues and clients, generate your website content, develop your company's blog posts and product/service descriptions, or do you find another solution?
I think it's important to mention that my opinion of AI used to be very negative, and it has since improved as I've learned how to use the tool better to supplement my own skill set. However, I still would never recommend that someone simply use AI to write all their communications and marketing content. There's a far better solution!
Get Professional Help
Leaning on a professional copywriter or content marketer to write your content for you is going to allow you to leverage both your expertise in your field and their skillset in communicating that knowledge effectively. The result is a synergy that simply cannot be achieved through automated tools or AI powered thinking.
If you think you can't write or you don't want to write, let a professional help you. You can work together to create something that achieves your business objectives while appealing specifically to your unique audience. But the benefit doesn't simply end there! A content marketer can not only write a specific piece of content for you to fit one individual purpose but align all content within a broader marketing framework to achieve organization-wide goals and drive growth. Remember, each individual piece of content has a place in a larger network that serves the entire organization. As the old adage in marketing goes, a brand of the sum of its details and each individual piece of content is one of those details that contributes to overall brand perception. So, if you can't write, find someone who can do it for you! But, more importantly, find someone who can pull together all the different pieces of content that you're creating (written content, video, help resources, etc.) across every customer touch point to achieve something bigger.
Stay Involved
Now that doesn’t mean that you should be entirely disconnected from the content creation process, especially if you’d like to grow as a writer. Save your time and mental energy for managing the area of the company under your purview and if you want to improve as a writer look for ways that you can get involved without having to physically write all of it yourself – contribute ideas, offer to edit first drafts of content, provide helpful resources that can be referenced in the content, stay abreast of industry information that may be relevant to existing content plans. Keep one finger on the pulse of content creation and one finger on the pulse of managing your business from the front lines. Always be on the lookout for ways to grow professionally!
Next Steps
When you need professional copywriting services, please contact us. We create, promote, and distribute content on behalf of our clients across their existing customer base and in front of prospective customers to help them convert more leads, retain more customers, and improve customer satisfaction. Contact us today to find out how we can help your company take its content to the next level!
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