How ChatGPT Can Streamline Copywriting

We’re all looking for efficiencies – how to do more and do it faster, better and with fewer resources. When ChatGPT grabbed the spotlight in November, AI suddenly became real to all those who saw artificial intelligence as just something for robotics and sci-fi movies. Here was a tool that anyone could use, it was free (at least for now) and it was honestly quite amazing.

As the leader of a team of copywriters, I’ve been researching and testing ChatGPT to figure out how my team could use it to be more efficient. Over the weekend, I started writing a blog post about my findings. But then I thought, hey, let me ask ChatGPT what it thinks. So, I typed in: Write a blog post about how ChatGPT will streamline the work of copywriters and offer tips for using ChatGPT to create copy.

This is what it wrote with no edits (ChatGPT copy in italics):

As a language model designed to understand and generate human-like text, ChatGPT has the potential to revolutionize the world of copywriting. With its ability to generate natural-sounding language and its extensive knowledge base, ChatGPT can streamline the work of copywriters and help them create effective copy more efficiently. In this blog post, we will discuss how ChatGPT can benefit copywriters and provide some tips on how to use ChatGPT to create copy.

How ChatGPT can help copywriters

Copywriting is the process of writing persuasive and compelling text that promotes a product, service, or idea. Copywriters must have a deep understanding of the target audience, the product or service being marketed, and the desired outcome of the copy. They must also be skilled at crafting language that is engaging and persuasive.

ChatGPT can assist copywriters in several ways. First, it can help generate ideas for copy by providing a starting point for brainstorming. Copywriters can input keywords related to the product or service they are promoting, and ChatGPT can generate ideas and suggestions for copy.

Second, ChatGPT can help with the actual writing process by generating draft text that can be refined and edited by the copywriter. This can save time and help copywriters produce high-quality copy more efficiently.

Finally, ChatGPT can provide valuable insights and suggestions for improving the effectiveness of copy. For example, it can suggest different ways to phrase a call-to-action or provide feedback on the overall tone and messaging of the copy.

Tips for using ChatGPT to create copy

While ChatGPT can be a powerful tool for copywriters, it is important to use it effectively. Here are some tips for using ChatGPT to create copy:

  1. Input clear and specific prompts: When using ChatGPT to generate copy, it is important to provide clear and specific prompts. This will help ChatGPT understand the desired outcome and generate more relevant and effective copy.
  2. Use ChatGPT as a starting point: ChatGPT can be a great starting point for generating ideas and draft text, but it is important to refine and edit the output to ensure it is high-quality and meets the desired goals.
  3. Incorporate your own voice and style: While ChatGPT can generate natural-sounding language, it is important to incorporate your own voice and style into the final copy. This will help the copy stand out and feel more authentic…

At this point, I received an error message and it stopped writing. While the copy was very dry and seems more like something a high schooler would write for comp class, it definitely was something I could use for the research to write my own post. I hit the “regenerate response” button, and it almost immediately started typing in a completely different blog post:

Copywriting is an essential skill in the world of marketing and advertising. It involves creating content that persuades and inspires people to take a specific action, such as buying a product or signing up for a service. However, crafting compelling copy can be a time-consuming process that requires a lot of creativity and research. This is where ChatGPT comes in to streamline the work of copywriters and make the process more efficient.

ChatGPT is a large language model that has been trained on vast amounts of data to generate human-like responses to a wide range of queries. With its ability to understand natural language and generate text, ChatGPT can assist copywriters in various ways. Here are some tips for using ChatGPT to create copy:

  1. Generate ideas: ChatGPT can help you brainstorm ideas for your copy. Simply provide a topic or a keyword, and ChatGPT will suggest several relevant ideas that you can use as a starting point for your copy.
  2. Improve your headlines: Writing a compelling headline is crucial to capturing your audience’s attention. ChatGPT can help you come up with catchy headlines that are more likely to attract clicks and engagement.
  3. Enhance your copy: If you’re struggling to find the right words to convey your message, ChatGPT can help you generate phrases and sentences that fit your brand voice and tone.
  4. Conduct research: ChatGPT can help you find information on a particular topic or industry. It can provide you with statistics, facts, and figures that you can use to support your copy.
  5. Generate social media captions: Writing engaging social media captions can be challenging, but ChatGPT can help you craft captions that are more likely to be shared and liked by your audience.

Using ChatGPT can help copywriters save time and improve the quality of their work. However, it’s important to note that ChatGPT is a tool and not a replacement for human creativity and critical thinking. Here are some tips to ensure that you use ChatGPT effectively:

  1. Be specific: Provide ChatGPT with as much detail as possible about your project, including your brand voice, target audience, and goals.
  2. Edit your work: While ChatGPT can generate text, it’s essential to edit and refine the content to ensure that it meets your standards and aligns with your brand’s messaging.
  3. Use multiple sources: Don’t rely solely on ChatGPT for research or content generation. Use it as a starting point and supplement it with information from other sources.

In conclusion, ChatGPT can be a valuable tool for copywriters looking to streamline their workflow and create more compelling copy. By following the tips mentioned above, you can use ChatGPT effectively and take your copywriting to the next level.

Again, this is a bit dry, but it’s still pretty good. While ChatGPT has a lot of limitations – voice, tone, accuracy, potential for copyright infringement, plagiarism, etc. – it’s still astounding that artificial intelligence can quickly create unique copy that is this cohesive. Of course, the bot obviously knows a lot about itself so I would expect this to be strong copy with accurate details given the topic. If I were asking it to write an essay about the battle of Waterloo, I’d expect more of a Wikipedia type answer that would need to be heavily fact checked.

Still, I’ll admit that I’m impressed. And if I’m being honest, maybe a little nervous as well. I can see both the advantages and the risks. Many content creators will just take what ChatGPT generates and post it verbatim, enabling them to create a tremendous amount of online content very quickly. Being a huge fan of apocalyptic novels and movies, I can see a day when the internet is full of content generated by bots, where no attention is paid to truth, accuracy and authenticity.

But I guess the argument could be made that it already is, right?