Most people think copywriting is about words. But it’s really about intention. If you’ve studied copywriting even a little, you know it’s a discipline rooted in customer motivations and decision-making stages. It’s about buyer psychology, not just wordsmithing.
And, with curiosity, a smart prompt, and a trained AI assistant, you can think deeper about your prospect and get to the good stuff quicker.
You see, the point of using AI tools like ChatGPT is to think better. Too much of the AI discourse in writing communities treats AI as a typing tool when it’s a thinking tool.
AI can help you do your job as a copywriter better. It can…
- Uncover buyer resistance
- Map content to the sales cycle
- Improve your writing style
- Role-play as your customer or stakeholder
Let’s talk about that last one real quick. As a copywriter, your job is to get into the head of your customer. You’ve probably heard that before. With AI, you have a collaborator to help you do it faster and better.
AI Prompts You Can Use to Be a Better Copywriter
Here’s a prompt you can give AI to help. Pretend you’re working with a tech company to sell enterprise accounting software.
Prompt: “Act like a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at a mid-sized enterprise ($50-$200M in revenue). You’re considering switching from your legacy accounting system to a new enterprise-grade accounting tool. What are your top concerns, objections, and decision criteria? What do you need to see, hear, or believe before saying yes to a sales conversation?”
You can even explore relevant Reddit threads like r/accounting, r/finance, or r/SaaS. Copy the most popular posts and comments, then ask AI to analyze them.
Next, ask AI to act as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Head of IT, Director of Procurement, etc. You can quickly uncover some perspectives you might not have thought of on your own.
Now, let’s go further:
- What are their common pain points?
- What slows down their buying process?
- What inspires them to research new solutions?
You’re looking for emotional triggers and buying signals to help you shape copy that resonates.
Use AI as a Writing Coach
Want to be a better copywriter? Ask AI to compare your copy to a [famous copywriter or brand style].
Simply copy and paste your copy into the box and ask it to compare your work to [copywriter or brand style]. Ask, “How can I improve my flow, voice, or clarity?”
You’ll get targeted feedback you can use.
Match Your Message to Buyer Awareness
Prompt: Paste your copy and ask, “What stage of awareness is this copy speaking to? Problem-aware? Solution-aware? Unaware?”
It can be tricky to connect your copy to the prospect’s stage. This guides you in the right direction.
Go Deeper and Synthesize Information
The real magic happens when you ask AI follow-up questions. The prompt is just a start. Ask AI follow-up questions and don’t be afraid to go down rabbit holes. I like to ask, “What am I not asking that I should consider?” or “Do I have blind spots here?”
Find a couple of industry trend reports and ask AI to summarize them and extract key insights. Then, ask AI how it affects your messaging. This helps you guide strategy.
Using AI Ethically
I’ve heard of people using AI to write articles for them and send them unedited to their editors. How did the editor know? The writer forgot to remove the text at the bottom where ChatGPT asks follow-up questions like, “Would you like me to turn this into a PDF?”
Don’t do that.
Also, don’t upload sensitive data. If you signed an NDA and your client sent over information, don’t upload that to ChatGPT.
Instead, do this:
- Customize your AI assistant. You can turn off the training option so your data doesn’t train future models.
- Use AI to explore new perspectives. But you’re the final judge.
- Double-check everything. Be aware that ChatGPT can “hallucinate,” which is an interesting way to say it lies. At times, it invents perfect expert quotes that don’t exist. Always
ChatGPT is a great creative tool that helps you explore ideas, but it doesn’t replace your brain. It supports you in your goal to become a better writer.
Try This Today
Ask AI to role-play with you today. Take three minutes and ask it to “Act as [job title], what are the three biggest questions you have about [topic].” Let those responses guide you to the next question, and the next…
