Copywriting Tools

AI For Copywriting

AI For Copywriting: What’s The Sitch?

From Sci-Fi movies and novels to virtual assistants like Apple’s Siri on our phones, we’ve all encountered AI in some shape or form. 

The technology is rapidly evolving, and it won’t take long until AI is increasingly ingrained into our everyday lives. 

What Is AI?

AI, which stands for Artificial Intelligence, is a field of computer science that focuses on teaching computers and machines to think like humans. Basically, AI encompasses systems or machines that replicate human intelligence. And, different types of AI have different capabilities. 

Some AI, like Sophia (the world’s first robot citizen), are able to communicate and have conversations. Others, like IBM’s Watson seen on Jeopardy! back in 2011, help organizations run more efficiently.  

It’s true – there have been significant leaps in this area of technology in recent years. However, today, AI is a tool for improving our day-to-day lives. 

For example, if a business uses a Chatbot to talk with customers, then they’re implementing AI. Drive a Tesla? Well, your vehicle is part robot, so to speak. 

And now, we’re even seeing AI used for things like communicating. Within the application and research of AI is a subfield called Natural Language Processing (NLG)

NLG enables computers to read, analyze, and understand written words within their context in the same way humans do. Basically, the goal of NLG is to teach an AI to comprehend language and output natural-sounding language as well. 

How Is AI Being Used For Copywriting?

In the past couple of years, AI for content and copywriting has become a popular service. For one, creating content day after day requires a lot of mental energy. 

So, for writers dealing with writer’s block or needing help brainstorming, AI copywriting tools can assist with the ideation process. 

When To Use AI For Copywriting

AI copywriting programs are valuable tools for business owners, marketers, big brand name companies, and even human writers. And, AI copywriters promise to increase the value they offer as the technology advances. 

Specifically, AI copywriters are quite capable of producing short paid SEM ads, simpler blog articles, or complementing your SEO efforts with targeted keywords. However, you may also find a use for AI copywriting depending on your business objectives. 

Perhaps the most important factor when choosing whether to use an AI copywriter would be to compare your short and long-term goals. 

You’re Pressed For Time

AI copywriters can be an indispensable tool for entrepreneurs leading busy, hectic lives. It can help create a large amount of marketing copy in a very short amount of time. 

Likewise, if you’re a marketing agency with a high content output, investing in AI services can support you with multiple quick-turnaround deadlines. Since AI writers can get the ball rolling on a blog or campaign almost instantly, you cut down on time spent brainstorming ideas. 

Larger companies like eBay and Chase utilize AI copywriters to produce web ads in bulk. Usually, these are very short ads that are quite basic. 

While a human could write these ads, using an AI writer is cost-effective for big corporations. Furthermore, it also allows human writers to focus on more important projects. 

Need to create thoughtful and meaningful high-converting copy, but don’t have the time? Reach out to FocusCopy to learn how the experts can help strategize and create copy that will help your business grow.

You Aren’t Concerned With The Voice

Is your primary goal to produce more content without devoting a lot of time to the tone and voice of every piece? Adding AI copywriters to your arsenal can significantly scale your output. 

However, we should let you know that every piece of content you use AI to produce won’t be nearly the same level of quality you could expect from a professional writer. 

You’ll more than likely run into awkward phrasing, ambiguous language, and content that feels less thoughtful. I don’t want to lean into a cliche and say that it will sound “less human,” but, at its core, the language produced by AI does feel that way. 

At times it can feel stiff. Other times, it can feel quite lazy – like a very basic first draft of a piece.  

In terms of how it sounds, you’ll want to be sure your goals are defined and that AI can help you achieve those goals – not hinder them. 

It’s Not Public Facing

When the work you’re producing isn’t meant to be seen by a lot of people, AI can help streamline the creative process. But if you intend for the copy to be public facing, you may be editing more than intended to make it sound like it came from a human.

You’re A Better Editor Than You Are A Writer

AI writing programs actually seem to do quite well writing grammatically sound content. But that doesn’t mean it’s always accurate. For example, here are a few sentences about cosmetics we generated using AI: 

  • Join us as we make you kind of pretty inside and out.
  • Our products are even safe to use on sensitive facial skin, like if you have rosacea or any other type of sensitive skin.
  • We just want you to be pretty and not have your bank account empty.

The problem with these sentences is that they lack concrete, specific language. And too often, they simply don’t make sense and miss the mark. So, if you’re an adept editor and can quickly edit to get the sound and grammar right, AI could significantly speed up your drafting process. 

Limitations Of Using AI For Content Marketing & Copywriting 

More often than you might expect, AI is capable of producing great ideas and even great copy. 

However, its limitations start to become clear when you want highly authentic, thoughtful, and meaningful content. 

For example, long-form content is just one area where an AI might struggle to produce quality results. AI programs usually include reputable sources for their articles and won’t plagiarize existing content. However, if you want your content to have thoughtful commentary, communicate intricate details, and convince readers to take action, AI may fall short. Think B2B copywriting, complex blog topics, landing pages, white papers, case studies, etc. 

It’s helpful to read the mission statement or taglines AI companies are using on their website: 

  • Jarvis.AI: “We’re a group of friends living in Austin, Texas on a mission to help you break through writer’s block with the help of artificial intelligence.” 
  • Copy.ai: “Introducing the end of writer’s block.” 

A common thread between AI companies and users of their services is that AI copywriters are tools to enhance and augment a copywriter’s work, not replace it completely. 

Remember, AI-produced content can feel stiff and flat. The copy isn’t always personable or emotionally engaging. 

An AI’s language abilities will get better over time as it reads more and is exposed to more content. However, writing copy with emotional depth and creativity will probably be a big hurdle to get over.

AI Copywriter vs Human Copywriters 

So, let’s talk about the other important differences between using AI versus partnering with professional copywriters. 

But first, the biggest difference lies in how the work is produced and the process itself. 

When you partner with a real team of copywriters, you’re getting more than quality copy alone. You’re working with individuals who have your goals on their minds. For instance, FocusCopy is always thinking of ways to help our clients grow their business or tackle the obstacles that are in their way. 

A good copywriter strives to understand your vision and brand. They ask questions to learn more. They want to get to know your audience as much as possible and really understand the big “why”. 

In short, it’s a collaborative partnership! 

Ready to partner with the experts to build your brand, convert customers, and grow your successful business? Contact us at FocusCopy today!

AI Copywriters And Human Copywriters Working Together 

When human copywriters partner with AI copywriting services to produce work, the result is often stronger. Moreover, writers experience less burnout, and marketing strategies improve. 

AI can produce a larger body of work at a much faster rate. This frees up time for a human copywriter to dedicate more thought and time to the bigger picture. This includes tasks such as:

  • What content topics to produce
  • Researching competitors
  • Studying well-performing copy
  • Brainstorming new ideas
  • Producing higher-quality content
  • And so much more!

Furthermore, a human copywriter can analyze funnels and strategies falling short and tweak the process to find what works. 

Let’s Get The Focus Back To Your Marketing Strategies 

Ever feel like you’re alone on your entrepreneurial journey? Building a business takes a lot of time, commitment, and effort! But the team at FocusCopy wants to help you achieve each one of your ambitious goals. Learn how we can provide support with real copy that converts. The FocusCopy team’s process includes writing in your voice to establish your brand consistently to help your business grow and be successful. Schedule a call today to learn more!

Focus Your Copy On Conversation & Conversion

Let’s Grab A Virtual Coffee With Us To Discover How To Boost Your Words
Copy Toolkit

What You Need In Your Copy Toolkit To Write Effective Copy

If there is a process, an automation, or an easier way of doing something, then people will do it. Why? Because people naturally do not want to do more work than is required. 

Makes sense. 

Copywriting isn’t an easy task – even for us professionals. 

It requires creativity, effort, strategy, and time. 

That’s why many companies either hire a copywriting team like FocusCopy or avoid writing any copy at all. If it’s the latter, then they are usually so consumed in their business because they need to speak every word of copy. That also usually indicates that they are not able to grow their business beyond a certain point. 

Thankfully, there are a couple of tools that speed up the process (even by a couple of minutes). Before we get into the copywriting tools we use, what’s the copywriting process without any aids? 

What The Copywriting Process Is Like Without Tools

Without copywriting aids, this is what a general copywriting process looks like:

  • At least 1-2 hours of meetings per deliverable to capture knowledge and brand voice
  • High potential for writer’s block because staring at a blank page is the worst thing you can do for copywriting
  • At least 30 minutes of research for copy deliverable
  • Multiple rounds of revisions from the approver (whether that’s you or someone else)

Depending on what you’re writing and how quick you are at reviewing, the review alone can take 1-2 hours (if you stay focused).

However, once you implement a process that works and use the tools that you know can help, you’re on the right path to great copy.

It may sound more complicated than it really is.

And you may be asking, “where do I even find those tools?”

The good news is that we’ve (pretty much) tried them all over the years, and we have our favorites right here.

Tools You Need In Your Copy Toolkit To Write Effective Copy

As professional copywriters, we want to share what we have in our copy toolkit to write effective copy. 

Hemingway App

This is not your basic Microsoft Word spell check. The Hemingway App does so much more and makes it easy for you to follow along while writing and editing your work.

If you’ve ever struggled to read through and fix items in your own writing, know that you aren’t alone. In fact, we have our own internal process to ensure we’re viewing each piece with fresh eyes before hitting “Send.”

The Hemingway App helps by going through your writing and highlighting issues such as:

  • Grammar
  • Spelling
  • Punctuation
  • Complex sentence structure
  • Passive voice and more

You can get the Hemingway Online Editor for free OR buy the Hemingway App for a one-time purchase of $19.99.

Yoast SEO

Copy Toolkit

Writing tools are great. But there’s more to creating good content than spell check apps. Yoast SEO is a search engine optimization plugin that works with WordPress. With an estimated 64 million websites using WordPress, chances are Yoast SEO could benefit you, too. 

Using Yoast SEO helps your website show up to the audience base you really want. And it can get more viewers from Bing and Google than you would have otherwise. Also, it can help increase engagement with your audience and get more visitors from social media platforms.

There are a ton of free courses available for you to learn SEO and so much more. Yoast SEO offers a free and paid version of its services for businesses and websites of all sizes.

WordHippo

Copy Toolkit

Have you ever had a hard time coming up with a word or phrase for something you know is at the tip of your tongue? Maybe you didn’t have your morning cup of joe like you usually do. You might have even skipped out on your routine yoga session and now your whole day is thrown off. 

These scenarios make WordHippo the perfect pal to have when your brain is feeling a little on the foggy side. The best part about it? You can work off fragments of a thought, plug it in, and see what comes up. Usually, it knows where your thought process is heading and can fill in the gaps when you’re not so sure.

WordHippo is one of the best online applications to help you find the right word or phrase you’re searching for. But it’s also good for creative writing and has other useful tools, including:

  • A thesaurus
  • Translations
  • Rhymes
  • Definitions
  • Antonyms
  • Synonyms 
  • And more!

Discover more and greater words here. 

Google Docs

A tried and true classic, Google Docs comes with its own toolkit for spelling and grammar checks. It highlights and catches basic mistakes you might make as you write. This can help you clean up your writing, make it more clear, and easier to follow.

In addition, gone are the days of emailing warped or incorrect docs back and forth. You can also bid adieu to crashed servers and lost files. Google docs is a fantastic way to draft and share your docs as needed without all of the confusion. And since it lives in the cloud, it auto saves your work as you go. Features like link sharing, viewing edit history, and comments ensure your team is working in sync every step of the way.

Brand Voice Guide

When you know you need to get going on your website copy but don’t know where to start, we have just the thing.

Consider creating a Brand Voice Guide that defines the exact voice, tone, and messaging your business needs. Here’s the truth… If you have no idea how your business should sound or who it needs to speak to, you’ll never have quality copy that gets customers to your front door.

A Brand Voice Guide (which you can create yourself) is the key to producing future copy that gets others excited about what you do and why you do it. 

And hey! If you don’t have the time or don’t feel comfortable writing your own Brand Voice Guide, we get it! As a business owner or manager, you have a million other things going on and you simply don’t have anything else to give to your company’s writing. Call in the experts with the creative know-how, and we’ll get one started for you.

Other Tools

We know we didn’t list all of the tools out there to help sharpen up your copywriting skills. These are the ones we find most helpful, but we’re aware that everyone has their own style and flair for writing. Feel free to comment below ones that we should consider or others who are writing should consider.

Have a writing to-do list you need taken care of? Contact us for more information about writing for your business.

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