AI is coming to snatch the livelihood from us copywriters.
At least, that seems to be the sentiment around the interwebs these days.
My LinkedIn feed is flooded with comments of impending doom:
Clients aren’t willing to pay a premium for quality copywriting.
With ChatGPT, anyone can create perfectly acceptable website copy.
Even warnings of clients deploying gaslighting AI-checkers to falsely accuse honest writers of using chatbots.
While I’ve noticed a decrease in demand for what I call run-of-the-mill or low-expectation work—emails or landing pages created just to check a box—this largely comes from clients who never believe in the ability of their marketing to do much for their business.
However, the clients who still depend on their marketing copy to stand out and drive growth aren’t relying on LLMs to get them there.
So, what is it about human-crafted copy that demanding clients find irreplaceable?
I’d say it’s the power of one-of-a-kind authenticity.
Not unlike Kintsugi (金継ぎ), the Japanese art of repairing cracks in ceramics with gold. Kintsugi means "golden joinery." This technique not only repairs the object but also highlights its history and imperfections, turning the damage into a unique and beautiful feature.
With Kintsugi, an otherwise generic ceramic bowl becomes unique and remarkable through its imperfections, standing out to the admirer.
Human-crafted copy achieves the same effect, with a unique voice, unconventional perspectives, and memorable style.
While it might not be an intentional imperfection, if done right, it is intentionally unique and designed to be unforgettable. AI-generated copy, essentially reprocessed data, just can’t achieve that.
In fact, the flood of LLM-generated verbiage will only increase the need for marketing copy that leaves an indelible impression. Which means marketers and business leaders will need to dig deeper to cultivate their unique brand voice.
I created my Unforgettable Brand Voice Workbook to help business leaders create marketing copy that stands out as authentically their own. It contains step-by-step guidelines, tools, and exercises for creating a unique, motivating voice for your brand — one that is more unmistakably your own and less AI-generated sausage.
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