In late 2022, along came ChatGPT. I describe it as a search engine (Google) on steroids.
As a customer service and CX expert, I’ve written more than 3,000 articles over the years, including almost 500 articles for Forbes. I’m often asked how I get ideas for content.
I’ll admit that it’s not easy to develop new ideas week after week. I’m often pitched by PR agencies that want me to write about their clients. Once in a while, one of those pitches catches my interest, but my favorite way to get ideas is to read the titles of articles in numerous publications. While I read five to 10 articles daily, I’ll often skim through various publications and read just the titles. That’s typically enough to get my creative juices flowing, and I think to myself, “I can write about that,” and then I do, often without reading the original article.
In late 2022, along came ChatGPT. I describe it as a search engine (Google) on steroids. It delivers ideas, suggestions and more. It can even write an article for you—more on that in just a moment. So, I thought I’d share how an author/writer can use ChatGPT to support their efforts and came up with a “Top 10” list.
But first, let’s back up to the comment I made that ChatGPT can write the article for you. Even though it can, DON’T DO IT! That’s NOT how authors should use ChatGPT, and here’s why. Articles written by ChatGPT are often easy to spot. While it’s not officially plagiarism, it’s pretty close. It’s not really your work. It’s the machine’s work, and that makes you “an imposter.” If all you do is copy and paste content, you’re doing your audience—and yourself—a disservice. While ChatGPT can’t make you a thought leader, it can make you a smarter thought leader when used the right way. With that, here are 10 ways I use ChatGPT to make me a better writer and smarter thought leader:
1. Ideas for Articles: ChatGPT will help you find relevant topics to write about. Just ask something like, “What are the hottest topics in _________ (whatever the subject) that experts are writing about?” You’ll most likely get some interesting answers. Use these as a way to kick-start your creative process.
2. Title Suggestions: Once you’ve written your article, you need a good title. Just paste the article into the search engine and ask, “Can you give me five good titles for this article?” In just seconds, you’ll have titles to consider or modify to meet your needs.
3. Quotes from Famous People: You can paste your article into the search engine and ask, “Are there any famous people who may have a quote that applies to topics in this article?”
4. Editing and Proofreading: I wish I had this when I was in college. Programs like Grammarly are great, but I like running some of my articles through ChatGPT to get another “set of eyes” on the article.
5. A Powerful Research Tool: All you have to do is ask ChatGPT questions, and you’ll be amazed at the answers you get. But, be sure to check for accuracy. I once asked, “How many books has Shep Hyken (that’s me) written?” It only listed four of the eight titles. I asked again, and it came up with the other four.
6. Fact-Checking: This is a follow-up to No. 5. Yes, ChatGPT will make mistakes, so if you plan to use ChatGPT for research, do some additional fact-checking. Ask the same questions in several ways to ensure consistent answers. You may even consider looking outside of ChatGPT—such as Google—to confirm you’re getting good information.
7. Examples: This could fall into the category of research. I often come up with new concepts and need good examples. ChatGPT can help find case studies to match up to ideas and concepts.
8. Targeting Your Audience: Tell ChatGPT the audience you are targeting, such as technical, C-level, real estate, etc., and it will help you write in a voice that most resonates with your target audience.
9. SEO Optimization: If you post an article, you want people to find it. Take the “almost finished” piece, put it into ChatGPT, and ask for suggestions on how to optimize the content for search engines. You’ll find words and phrases you can strategically place into the article to help get you more visibility.
10. Social Media Suggestions: ChatGPT can help you create social media posts once an article is finished. Ask it for suggestions with Tweets, Facebook posts, etc., that you can use to promote the article.
None of these ideas will produce an article for you, and as mentioned, even though ChatGPT can, you don’t want it to write the article. You’re the writer. But there’s nothing wrong with using what’s available to help you with your work. Using Chat GPT can save you time and effort—often lots of it. It’s a powerful new partner to have in your corner that can help you do what you do better.
