Some writers and creators love using AI to write and create content. Others hate it. One newsletter reader even wrote in to tell me she hit the unsubscribe button because of my “blatant support of AI.” The last time I checked, OpenAI didn’t invite me into their seed round. That said, here’s my take: AI isn’t going anywhere, so I could pretend it doesn’t exist and get left behind or start using it for my business. I develop ideas for my content without AI and write what AI can’t generate....
1 day ago • 3 min read
I set up a live chat with some Substack subscribers the other day. I asked subscribers: What’s your number one question about writing online? The responses were variations of this conundrum: “How can I find the right audience?” Niche and audience selection kept me up at night for a few years, but I don’t worry so much about it anymore. Creating niche-specific content is a smart approach if you’re building a website. I ran a food and drinks website (not under my personal brand) for a few...
3 days ago • 2 min read
They often can’t afford what you sell or will try it once and move on. Instead, create content for your ideal client instead, one can afford your offer and will do the work. I wrote blog posts and articles for new authors and writers for a few years. Two examples come to mind. I wrote a several thousand-word guide to using Scrivener for blogging, packed with pics, examples, and templates. I also published a huge step-by-step breakdown about how to crowdsource great book covers over at...
4 days ago • 2 min read
I’ve spent 100+ hours mastering AI content creation, so you don’t have to. Get my proven templates for just $10/month. I’ve developed a system that cuts content creation time by 50%. No more endless hours scrolling X threads or watching YouTube videos trying to figure out AI tools. I did the hard work so you don’t have to. The content game is changing fast. While others waste time churning out generic AI content, smart creators use AI to scale their genius– ideas, stories, and emotional...
5 days ago • 2 min read
If you're spending hours typing out GPT prompts, here's a neat tip to save you a few hours. Use voice prompts and transcriptions. They can generate more accurate results than laboring over a 1,000+ word text prompt. The other day, I was meeting with a client online. He explained a problem he’s facing with his business and what he wants to do this year. I offer content strategy services, but rather than pitching him on the call, I hit the transcribe button in Google Meet (both parties get a...
6 days ago • 2 min read
DeepSeek wiped a trillion off the US stock market this week. Oddly enough, it took six days for the market to react to DeepSeek, which launched on the 22nd. On its website “DeepSeek-R1 is now live and open source, rivaling OpenAI’s Model o1.” The Chinese startup behind it says DeepSeek is 20–50 times cheaper to use than the latest OpenAI o1 model. It’s number one in the App Store as I write this. It’s also a big target for cyber attackers, and registrations are limited. I got in before the...
7 days ago • 2 min read
A few days ago, I wrote a note on Substack that popped off. I write these notes every day. I spent five minutes on this one. My note went viral, attracting over 1000 likes, shares, and comments agreeing and disagreeing with my contrarian take. Some other big creators restacked or shared it, too. And I attracted a few dozen new subscribers for my Substack list: Not bad for five minutes of work. I’ve spent far more time on newsletters than have done far less for my brand. So what’s the takeaway...
8 days ago • 3 min read
Gary Vee says publish 6+ times daily on half a dozen channels and you’ll grow a business. Gary also has a team dedicated to his content strategy Creating and repurposing content sounds fine, but it can quickly become a stressful, low-paying job. Frankly, I don’t like spending that much time on the content hamster wheel. Enter AI. To use AI as part of a content creation workflow, craft a prompt that takes one piece of content and multiples it. I call this type of prompt the Content Multiplier,...
9 days ago • 1 min read
Most prompt engineers are just writers in disguise. Prompt engineering is the fancy word boffins building ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude use to describe telling AI who you are and what you want from it. Amanda Askell is a philosopher who works for Antrophic, the company behind Claude. She says the term “engineering” is apt because someone crafting a prompt defines a problem, develops a solution and refines their work through testing. I asked a real-world engineer friend about this take. He...
10 days ago • 2 min read