Friday Focus #89

Hey Reader,

This year is turning into an all-out race to the bottom of the marketing barrel. Thankfully, this is a major opportunity for you (if you can resist the FOMO).

4 Types of Marketing Content AI Tools Can’t Build

The talking heads on social media have convinced many entrepreneurs that more content is always better—and we’re scared silly of getting overtaken by AI.

Influencers tell us we need a continual content flow to stay current, but what is that doing for your business?

Most 2024 content marketing advice sounds a lot like this:

One blog post every week, 2 podcast episodes, daily newsletter emails, and 17 tweets per day to feed the algorithm and keep everyone’s attention...and reply to everyone's comment within 47 seconds.

It's never-ending. And it's insanely wrong.

AI technology has taken the world by storm over the past 18 months, and FOMO is ruling the day. Some are too creeped out to trust their marketing messages to a robot, but are now afraid they’ll be left behind in this technology race.

AI is merely a tool.

It might help us research faster, edit sentences faster, or even write faster. But, at the end of the day, it’s not going to make any company a hero overnight.

Faster only helps if you’re running in the right direction.

Unfortunately, the average entrepreneur doesn’t understand their audience (or basic marketing principles) well enough to start a content creation firestorm.

Don’t turn over your marketing messages to a robot without careful consideration and editing. You don’t let Siri text your friends without reviewing it first, right? I wonder how many people have accidentally sent inappropriate messages to their parents simply because they didn’t proof speech-to-text.

I’ve been testing a few AI writing tools, and using them for basic research and editing, and I’ve been impressed. But they can't replace the expertise, experience, and empathy when you’re creating marketing content that needs to connect with your audience.

If you want your brand to sound like an empty chatterbox, then you should go all-in on AI writing tools (and turn off your brain).

Build marketing content assets that no one can replicate:

Give up on the content race for more, and start building content on your website that helps you stand head and shoulders above the rest.

Nike didn’t take over basketball by signing 40 average NBA players. They made a calculated and courageous decision to sign Michael Jordan. Do your research to find that one content topic that will directly connect with your audience (ideal clients) and make it the very best you can.

Search engines won’t always be able to tell if you’re creating AI content, but they will discover if it’s low-quality or copycat content. Instead of publishing 10 AI blog posts this month, write one article that meets all 4 of Google’s ranking requirements (E-E-A-T):

• Experience
• Expertise
• Authority
• Trustworthiness

These will beat those AI writing tools every time (and win new clients in the process):

Tip #1: Proven experience. Share educational content on your website that is legitimately helpful to your audience, and specific enough that they can’t find it on the internet. There are hundreds of businesses like yours, so focus on topics that highlight your unique experience.

Tip #2: Testimonials. Nothing is more compelling than true, thankful words from happy clients. Serve your clients well, then ask them for testimonials and reviews.

Tip #3: Personal stories. Don’t squelch your personality when building your marketing content. That’s what helps people know, like, and trust you. Think about it, you love doing business with people (not faceless brands).

Tip #4: Customer data and industry insights. You are the only one with direct insight into the fears, failures, and successes of your clients. That data is a goldmine of helpful content, but you've got to lean on a little customer empathy to understand how to deliver it.

Don't get lost in the chase for world's greatest ChatGPT prompt.

Double down on these 4 types of content and simply keep going. Most companies will give up after their 29th blog post gets zero readers and Google starts ignoring their site.

Stay Focused 🎯

​Do things that don't scale. This was Paul Graham's advice (in 2013) for how to get your startup funded by the experts at Y Combinator. It's still good advice today.

​What to do when you're out of ideas. Bookmark this article by Amanda Natividad at Sparktoro. She shared 4 can't-fail ideas to help you keep the content idea juices flowing.

​Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every Day. I'm a husband, dad of 6 kids, marketer, SEO consultant—and a wannabe runner. Sometimes, it's difficult to stay focused on the right things. You'll find loads of practical tips (not 4am cold showers), by 2 dudes who built the "design sprint" process at Google.

​How to Succeed as a Content Team of One. I bet you don't have a full office of writers, editors, and video producers on hand. You don't need a team of 7 to execute a solid content marketing strategy. But, you do need some ruthless priorities, a strong network, and a few other key things.

​40 statistics you need to know about online reviews. If you're a local business, then you want to read this.

Tools 🛠

I dropped by Quickbooks Self-employed account and went all-in on the Ruby Money App to pay my quarterly taxes and organize my solopreneur finances. If you're living the freelancer or solopreneur life, and sick of complicated IRS forms, then it's worth checking out.

​Click here to read my full review of Ruby Money​

Stay the course and focus on providing a highly-valuable experience for your ideal client.

John