In a world where you can use AI to create all your content – be that blog articles, social media posts, or emails – and almost everything has been written about by someone else, how can you come up with content that is fresh and speaks to your audience? One of the best ways is to be yourself. What do I mean by that? I mean, craft your brand voice and bring your unique perspective and expertise to your audience.
Here are the challenges that may be chipping away at your ability to be yourself.
Comparison-itis
It’s easy to compare yourself to other brands and businesses. But you have to remember that what you see on social media or websites, or even in emails, is an end product that’s been crafted, and edited, and re-written to make it shine. One of the reasons that it’s gone through so many re-drafts and edits is to make sure that it sounds like the brand or business it represents. It also addresses the topics and concerns that are relevant for its audience.
Don’t compare your ideas or first drafts with their end results. That’s like comparing an acorn with an oak tree.
The AI machine
It might seem easier to just get an AI to write your content. I mean, everyone’s doing it, aren’t they? While AI is improving month by month, it generally isn’t the answer to creating content that sounds like you and speaks to your audience. AI like Bing, Claude, and ChatGPT answer your prompts and questions by scouring online data. This means that any content they create is more of the same. It’s not original, however many detailed prompts you provide it with. Ultimately, it won’t sound like you because it can’t combine its knowledge with your unique perspective on life.
For more on why human writers are still better than AI, read Why would you use a human copywriter instead of AI?
It’s all been said before
Yes, but it hasn’t been said in your voice and from your unique perspective. People like to talk with people, that includes reading about their take on life. We’re a nosey bunch and we devour opinions. Even if you write about facts, you can use your experience of those facts and explain how that topic can help or inform your audience.
It may have been said before, but it hasn’t been said in your way.
So how do you ‘do you’?
How do you create content that is true to you and your business? It’s useful to have a number of facts clear in your mind:
- Who are you? And no, you can’t just answer this question with your name and job title (although they do figure in the complete answer). What was life like when you were growing up? What experiences shaped you? What’s your view on the world around you now? What drives you? What makes you happy? What infuriates you? How can all of this help you speak to your audience?
- Who is your audience? Who are you speaking to? Is it simply the people who buy from your business, or do you have a wider audience? Do you want a wider audience? Do you want a smaller, niche audience who totally get you and your business?
- What result do you want to create? What do you want your audience to do as a result of reading your content? Do you want them to buy your products or services, follow you on social media, sign up for your newsletter, go to an event, join your campaign, or help you change the world?
Developing your ‘voice’ is a journey. It involves knowing the answers to the three questions above (and revisiting those questions on a regular basis) and a large helping of trial-and-error. The more you create content for your audience, the more your voice will develop.
Of course, once you know the voice you want to represent your brand or business, you can create a style guide (that includes the characteristics of your voice and other rules like the maximum length of blog posts). And then, you can pass that style guide, and the work load of writing blog posts etc, to a member of staff or a freelance copywriter like me.
I’ll leave you with a final thought
People like people. Or rather, people want to deal with people, and work with them, and buy from them. AI, automated systems, chat bots, and faceless corporations can be rather intimidating. They certainly don’t build trust. Your audience may adore your products or services, but they also want to know that there’s an actual, living, person behind it all. So why not ‘do you’?
If you need a little inspiration for your blog posts, you might like to read 6 ways to keep your business blog fresh and engaging.
