Learn how to use AI and influence ChatGPT output to give you an edge as a freelance copywriter.

Did you know that *hundreds* of new AI tools have been released in the last few months alone?

As a freelance copywriter, you’re probably realizing that artificial intelligence (AI) is here to stay. Maybe you’re ready to start viewing it as a tool to work with – rather than ignore. But it’s hard to keep up with all the changing news, tech, and ideas on how to use AI.

You probably have a ton of burning questions, like…

“Which AI tools are worth trying, and how do I use them?”
“Is it ethical and legal to use AI-generated text?”
“How do I create ChatGPT prompts that *actually* produce results?”

My last AI article explored the capabilities of AI tools like ChatGPT and how they’re changing the copywriting landscape. Today, I want to build on that conversation and share practical tools and tips on exactly how to use AI to your advantage as a copywriter.

I. How Does AI Impact Your Role as a Copywriter?
II. General Tips for Collaborating with ChatGPT
III. How to Use AI in Your Copywriting Process (Steps and ChatGPT Prompts)
IV. Legal and Ethical Considerations of AI
V. How to Set Yourself Apart from AI Copywriting Tools

Although AI is really impressive, it’s not a magic bullet to write perfect copy or content.

You need to have a deep understanding of marketing knowledge and subject expertise to shape AI output. And it’s still critical to infuse copywriting skills, storytelling, and technique to make the content original and effective.

That’s why AI doesn’t eliminate the need for a copywriter. Instead, learning how to use AI actually gives you a competitive edge. You can leverage it to streamline your process and enhance your writing for your clients.

It’s always been my priority to teach my copywriting students the skills and knowledge that set them apart in the industry. This article is going to offer you a deep dive into exactly how to use AI in your writing process – with successful ChatGPT prompts.

I’m proud to see my copywriting students embracing this technology and using AI to streamline their processes, make their work more effective, and even create more freedom in their day. Many students in Write Your Way to Freedom earn $10k monthly, working 20 hours per week.

Ultimately, embracing and leveraging AI is how you can create better work in less time – which helps you stay irreplaceable, grow your career faster, and even feel more fulfilled as a copywriter. I’m here to help you navigate the whole process.

How Does AI Impact Your Role as a Copywriter?

If you’re a freelance copywriter feeling uncertain about AI, your feelings are completely understandable. There’s a lot of buzz around AI right now, and it can be hard to know what it actually means for the future.

AI has been making waves in various industries – from marketing and healthcare to finance and more. It’s true that advanced AI tech like ChatGPT is impacting some roles in each industry.

Some larger companies are figuring out ways to make processes more efficient and potentially reduce their staff by using AI. But it’s crucial to remember that AI still doesn’t entirely replace the role of a human.

That’s why roles like “Prompt Engineers” are starting to emerge. A prompt engineer specializes in creating prompts for AI systems and then optimizes the output.

Now, you don’t need to suddenly shift your title from “copywriter” to “prompt engineer.” But this concept demonstrates the fact that AI doesn’t replace humans altogether. And that brands DO want to work with folks who understand the tool and help them leverage it. 

How does this all apply to copywriting specifically?

Just like your ideal client doesn’t have the time or expertise to write their own content – they also don’t have the time or expertise to:
 

• Play around with AI 
• Try prompt after prompt
• Optimize the content AI produces

And as a copywriter, your understanding of marketing knowledge, subject expertise, and your client’s specific goals all play a vital role in shaping AI output.

AI provides a helpful starting point, but YOU ensure that the final product aligns with the strategy, speaks to the audience’s heart, and represents your client’s unique voice and tone. This is an absolutely critical role in creating content that gets results.

Here are a few more reasons why copywriters are still essential, even when leveraging AI tools:

1. Provide strategic support. Like I said, your marketing knowledge and subject expertise are indispensable in guiding and refining AI-generated content. You make sure the final content aligns with your client’s marketing strategy, voice, and audience.
   
   Plus, clients rely on you to provide strategic recommendations and insights to help them reach their goals. You set yourself apart by knowing how to think about their larger marketing funnel and how all the content fits together.
   
   
2. Create original, story-driven work. AI definitely helps with researching, writing, and speeding up the process. But effective content is about so much more than just stringing words together. Simply having content is only helpful if it’s driving results.
   
   AI can help you enhance your work by adding relevant examples and research. But it’s still critical for a copywriter to shape the output into an original piece of content that’s on-brand, personable, and compelling. And it’s imperative that you fact-check AI research, because it’s not perfect and sometimes provides inaccurate information.
   
   
3. Save clients time. The clients who didn’t have time to create their own copy before ChatGPT still don’t have time or the desire to spend hours tinkering with AI tools. While AI might speed up your process, it still takes time and intention to shape the final piece.
   
   So while AI is a helpful tool to enhance your process, brands still want to outsource their marketing and copywriting to an expert like you.
   
   

AI copywriting tools like ChatGPT make it easier for entrepreneurs in the early stages of business to handle their content themselves. But brands in the early DIY stages of business are likely not the clients you were looking to work with in the first place.

Most high-level and high-paying clients are still not going to want to DIY their content themselves. These clients are interested in quality content and working with a strategic partner to help them grow their brand for the long term.

While AI doesn’t eliminate the need for copywriters, the copywriters who become strategic partners and use AI to their advantage have an edge over the ones who don’t.

That’s why I want to encourage you to keep an open mind and continue to embrace AI tools with curiosity. The best way to set yourself apart is to be willing to evolve with new changes and find ways to leverage this technology for both you and your clients.

So, let’s dive into practical ways to use AI to make your process more efficient and effective.

General Tips for Collaborating with ChatGPT

You may have seen some impressive examples of AI-generated content on social media. But when you go to use ChatGPT yourself, the text it gives you sounds robotic and boring. 

What are you doing wrong?

What you don’t see in those posts are the prompts that the person used. AI’s output depends entirely on the input and prompts you share. That’s why it’s crucial to have a deep understanding of marketing knowledge and subject expertise to shape AI output.

Creating effective prompts, extracting valuable insights, and refining AI-generated content are all skills you can cultivate as a copywriter.

Here are a few general tips to keep in mind when interacting with ChatGPT:

• Ask ChatGPT what it needs. One of my favorite questions to ask ChatGPT is, “What information do you need to provide me with [an outline for a newsletter on mindfulness]?” The tool responds with a list of questions to answer to guide the content.
  
  
• Set crystal-clear objectives. Define the audience, purpose, and goal of your content *before* you engage with an AI tool like ChatGPT. Setting your objectives ensure that the AI-generated content aligns with your strategy and audience.
  
  
• Provide hyper-specific prompts. For the best outcome, provide detailed and specific prompts, including information about your target audience, the product or service, and the desired tone or style. (Stay tuned for actual ChatGPT prompts in the next section!)
  
  

• Refine and enhance AI-generated content. AI is a helpful starting point, but you should never copy and paste. Be sure to always refine the AI-generated content. This makes sure your final copy is original, compelling, and on-brand.
  
  

When you’re first getting started with AI tools like ChatGPT, I encourage you to view the process as an experiment. You didn’t learn how to write engaging copywriting overnight, right? Getting used to these new platforms might take some time – and that’s okay!

Don’t hesitate to try various prompts, angles, or styles. Experimenting helps you get comfortable using AI tools and find unique ways to start your content creation process.

How to Use AI in Your Copywriting Process (Steps and ChatGPT Prompts)

You now have a better understanding of how to interact with AI platforms like ChatGPT. So let’s do a deep dive into the exact ways you can bring AI tools into your process.

1. Topic Ideas.

Have you ever experienced the uncertainty of, “I’m just not sure what to write about”? That concern is pretty much a thing of the past. One of the strengths of AI is its ability to ignite creativity and initiate the flow of content ideas. It can help you create topics for blog articles, newsletters, social media content, and much more.

ChatGPT Prompts:

• I’m a [type of business] who helps [audience] with [specific problem/transformation]. Generate a list of 10 [blog article] topic ideas that my audience would be interested in learning about that would make them interested in [my offer].
  
  
• Example: I’m an online business coach who helps stay-at-home moms start their own businesses in under 10 hours per week. Generate a list of 10 topic ideas my audience would be interested in learning about that would make them interested in my group coaching program that helps them build their online business.
  
  

Although AI is helpful, be sure to continue to do topic research based on SEO and audience insights. Your content is much more effective when you tailor the topics to what your audience is searching for and talking about.

2. Audience and Market Research.

The #1 rule of copywriting is to always know exactly who you’re speaking to. The more specific you get with your audience’s pain areas and desires, the more effective your content is. AI can help you get to the root of this audience research quickly.

The best way to get audience research is to understand their:

• Pain areas. The challenges the audience is facing that your offer solves.
• Desires. The deeper motivations your audience truly wants deep down.
• Objections. Reasons why they might hesitate or decide not to purchase.
  
  

As a copywriter, you can gather audience research in several ways. But ChatGPT is great at helping you develop a starting point list for these areas.

ChatGPT Prompts:

• I’m creating a sales page for a product geared toward stay-at-home moms who want to start an online business. List the pain points and frustrations that this audience faces.
  
  
• What are some objections this audience might have that would make them hesitate to buy a product that helps them create an online business?
  
  

The best way to understand the audience is to ask your audience themselves. A way to set yourself apart from AI is by conducting market research in ways AI can’t. These include surveys, client interviews, and investigating the places your audience hangs out.

3. Outlining.

Outlining is a critical part of the writing process. This helps you get all your thoughts down on paper before diving in. With the right prompts, ChatGPT and other tools can kickstart your process with a comprehensive outline.

The key here is to make sure that the outline is tailored to your audience. A human writer knows there are multiple angles or ways to approach a subject. It’s your job to present the information to make it most relevant to the people you’re talking to.

ChatGPT Prompts:

• I want to create a long-form blog article that ranks in the #1 spot in Google for the term “how to start an online business.” The audience for this article is busy, stay-at-home moms who want to earn more money from home. Write me the most comprehensive outline on this subject for my audience.
  
  

Do your own SEO research for any content you want to rank in Google. ChatGPT doesn’t have access to real-time search results, so it’s crucial that you study the front-page results and keyword phrases to increase the competitiveness of your piece.

4. Writing Initial Drafts and Sections.

Do you know the concept of a “bad first draft?” It’s the idea that you need to get something down on paper – no matter how bad it is. So that *eventually,* it forms a fantastic piece. What’s great about these AI tools is they can do a good amount of this first draft writing for different sections of your piece.

ChatGPT Prompts:

• “Write an introduction for a blog post about [your topic].”
• “Write a paragraph explaining [specific point] for my blog post about [your topic].”
• “Write a conclusion for a blog post on [your topic] summarizing the key points.”
  
  

Remember to never simply copy and paste AI content. As a copywriter, it’s your job to shape the writing to be original and compelling. You should always look for ways to incorporate storytelling and other copywriting techniques to make your writing unique.

5. Expanding on Concepts with Examples.

One of my favorite ways to use AI is to ask it to generate examples and metaphors that relate to the topic you’re writing about. Metaphors help a statement really click and come to life with your audience, but it could take hours to come up with them.

With AI, you can come up with examples that greatly enhance your piece in minutes.

ChatGPT Prompts:

• “Can you give me a metaphor to illustrate the idea of [concept]?”
• “Provide an example that demonstrates [concept].”

It really helps to give ChatGPT feedback and ask it to continue refining a concept or example. As the platform gives you ideas, you can keep providing more specific details to get the most accurate and valuable results.

6. Editing Your Content.

Do you ever know what you want to say but can’t seem to get the words out in a way that makes sense? ChatGPT can take your idea and help you refine the sentence structure to get your point across.

ChatGPT Prompts:

• “Can you help me improve this paragraph? [insert paragraph]”
• “How can I make this sentence more engaging? [insert sentence]”
• “Can you rephrase this sentence for better clarity? [insert your sentence].”
  
  

AI is generally helpful with editing sentences to be more clear and concise. But it doesn’t replace the amazing contributions of a copyeditor who has a deep understanding of effective copywriting techniques and storytelling.

As you go through these steps, I’d encourage you to envision your ideal client attempting to navigate this process themselves. You’ll notice that while AI helps make each step more efficient – it doesn’t operate on its own.

Even a copywriter like yourself who understands marketing and content still needs to put in a lot of time and intention to shape and refine AI content. Your clients (and potential clients) might feel overwhelmed or confused by working with AI.

Yes, there are savvy marketers and companies that are implementing ChatGPT. But many of these companies have teams of prompt engineers and staff figuring out how to use the tech.

The regular business owner might still be perplexed by AI. I mean, I’ve worked with clients who feel totally overwhelmed by just uploading their blogs by themselves! 

And even the clients who feel more comfortable with AI still need a copywriting and marketing expert like you. So you can shape their content and create final copywriting pieces that are engaging, unique, and deliver results.

Legal and Ethical Considerations of AI

AI-generated content is still very new, and there are a lot of gray areas when it comes to the legal implications of AI. The question of who owns the rights to the content produced by AI – whether it’s the AI developer, the user, or even the AI itself – is still an open legal discussion.

That’s why I always tell my copywriting students to use AI as a helpful starting point and catalyst for ideas – but not a final product. It’s crucial to adapt and rephrase AI-generated content from both an ethics and quality standpoint.

Refining the text reduces the risk of plagiarism or copyright infringement and makes sure the content is original. But it’s also the critical process that makes the piece effective. 

As you start using AI, you’ll quickly notice that the text needs intentional editing, refining, and additions to make it into an effective copywriting piece. The way you inject stories and shape the piece to align with your client’s voice and goals is what sets you apart from AI.

How to Set Yourself Apart from AI Copywriting Tools

AI is an incredibly helpful tool to enhance the writing process. But you still need to have in-depth knowledge to shape AI output and create final copywriting pieces that deliver results.

The way to position yourself for success in this new copywriting landscape is to embrace AI. Blending your human writing skills and AI collaboration could make you an even better writer – who gets even bigger results for your clients.

Are you ready to set yourself apart from AI and other writers? Write Your Way to Freedom teaches you the elements that give you an edge, such as:

• Copywriting skills. Learn how to cultivate the copywriting techniques that stand out from AI-generated content and deliver results.
  
  
• Marketing funnel strategy. Discover how to think about your client’s strategy and become their partner in a way that AI can’t replicate.
  
  
• AI training and tools. Get the latest training on exactly how to use AI to enhance your writing and advance your copywriting career.
  
  

…and so much more.

With over 70+ modules and training, weekly live coaching calls, and a team of copywriting coaches at your fingertips – Write Your Way to Freedom has everything you need to launch or excel your lucrative copywriting career.

Want to ask us questions about AI and discover if Write Your Way to Freedom is right for you? Apply for a strategy session. We’re here to help you navigate these industry changes and empower you to come out on top.