Plus, an update on my 6 figure year and a few things I’m smiling about today
Raise your hand if you’re a writer or marketer who played around with ChatGPT when it first came out, snorted in disgust at the drivel it called writing, and dismissed the idea that it could be a threat to your livelihood?
Just me? Didn’t think so.
But now that we’re a couple of years into the “ever-evolving landscape” that is LLMs and AI chat tools, a few things have changed the way I think.
Hear me out.
Every day, I hear writers begrudgingly talk about using AI for brainstorming, research, and other non-writing tasks. They’re conceding that it’s here to stay and finding ways to make it seem like they’re on board so they don’t get left behind.
They’d NEVER use it for writing, though.
They also love to complain about it: surefire tells to spot ChatGPT-generated writing, reasons AI can never replace humans, why editing AI first drafts takes longer than writing from scratch, and on and on and on.
At the other end of the spectrum, the AI bros and bandwagonners are going ALL IN, loudly claiming they have the only prompt you’ll ever need to scale your business to 7 figures in 5 minutes (and it’s yours for only $7).
AI is moving so fast it can be hard to make it make sense, and that’s what has so many people reacting in extremes. They’re either in denial, or they’re capitalizing on fear to make a quick buck.
Over the past year, I realized it didn’t feel right to keep avoiding AI. I got curious, and started experimenting. I discovered real people doing cool things with AI. I saw that embracing AI thoughtfully and responsibly is possible.
Ready for a hot take?
I’m a writer who believes that AI is capable of writing well.
I’ll dig into that more in a future post. All I want to say today is that I’m excited about AI and the impact it’s having on our lives. Will there be negative consequences? Probably. Change is hard, and we’ll have to let go of what’s comfortable and familiar to make room for growth.
We’ll need to keep developing more sophisticated ways to detect AI - when it actually matters. We’ll have to stop wasting time pontificating and start creating solutions. As writers, marketers, and humans, we’ll have to hone our critical thinking skills, relentlessly champion authenticity, and help shape AI with our knowledge and insight.
We’re needed more than ever in the age of AI to cut through the fluff.
I’d love to hear about your experience with AI so far. What’s worked and what hasn’t? What role do you see it playing in your future?
An update on my 6 figure year
Last week, I struggled with focus.
I had two clear goals: refine my services into a few clearly defined offers, and build out my first low-ticket product.
I probably could/should have been able to check those two things off. I made some progress, but it was sporadic and scattered.
This week I’m changing my approach.
First, I’m going to make the goals smaller - as small as I can. That should make them easier to complete, giving me momentum.
Second, I’ll give myself a defined chunk of time to work on each goal. I struggle with self-imposed deadlines, but the idea here is more about focusing my energy than anything else.
Working with me
Speaking of offers, here’s one way to work with me right now (ICYMI, my business helps female founders attract more quality clients with refined brand messaging and website copy).
This week, I’m opening bookings for The Refined Copy Audit. This express service is for you if you want expert feedback on your website or email copy without investing in a full rewrite. If that sounds like something you need, you can add yourself to the waitlist to be the first in line when booking goes live.
What’s making me smile today
I bumped up my daily step goal to 12,000 and my streak is at 14 days.
There’s still so. Much. Snow. (I’m in Ottawa, Canada and Mother Nature sent us some extra winter weather this year) but March brings more daylight, warmer temps, and the promise of spring.
19 incredible humans have joined me here so far - I appreciate you so much!
Until next time,
Sue