Man vs. the Machine
–A case for writers vs Ai for your content
By Valentine J. Brkich
I’m a writer and have been all my life. I published my first story in the 2nd grade in the school newspaper (remember those?). Over the decades, I honed my writing skills and built a career crafting everything from radio spots to press releases to magazine articles and even full-length books. It’s pretty much the only thing I can do. But I can do it well.
So, when AI hit the scene, you can understand why I was nervous. Did this new technology signal the end of my writing career? Was I now obsolete?
The answer, thankfully, is no. And here’s why…
AI-powered writing generators are all the rage nowadays. And for good reason. Writing is hard. It takes time. It can make your neck and shoulders ache as you hunch over your keyboard and try to develop something creative and persuasive. Why would you want to struggle with writing something on your own when, with just a few prompts, you can have an AI tool write your Web copy/newsletter/ebook for you?
Because of one important thing: YOU.
That’s right, you. You and your company have a unique brand and voice that define you. Your online voice — your written content — should reflect your personal or professional style. You only have a few seconds to grab someone’s attention when they visit your website.
Look, I get it. I’ve been writing for fun for more than 40 years and professionally for 25. Even with all my years of experience, I too, struggle with writing at times, and it can be tempting to open up ChatGPT, Jasper, Copilot, or any number of AI generators.
So, if you need content for your website, social content, newsletter, slide deck presentation, etc., why would you pay a professional writer when you can write it with just a few keystrokes and a mouse click?
Dry, cookie-cutter copy comes off as insincere, verbose, or impersonal. If your writing doesn’t grab their attention from the get-go, you will lose that one vital opportunity to show the potential customer who you are and why they should choose you.
When you work with a professional writer to develop your content, we take the time to truly learn about you, your company, your mission, and how you like to do business. From there, we combine all those factors into creative, compelling content that highlights what is important to you. It is uniquely yours. AI can’t do that (at least not yet). Robots have no empathy. They can’t hear your passion for your business and then translate that into a copy that connects with your readers.
AI tools can be great for generating outlines or coming up with ideas. I’ve used it to help me create a table of contents for a new book I’m working on. I’ve even had it take a stab at writing a sample chapter to get my creative juices flowing.
When I think about my ghostwriting work, I guess you could say I’m a living, breathing AI generator. I help my clients develop the framework, and then they add their own personal flair and creativity to the book. They’re doing the work; I’m just helping them look good.
At first, I thought AI meant the end of human writers. But I’ve learned that we real writers won’t be replaced any time soon. We still have something compelling and personal to offer. And we can use that skill to your advantage and get you the results you want. When you want attention-grabbing content that reflects your unique voice and style of doing business, hire a pro. You won’t be disappointed.
