Hey there Reader! 👋

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Ever wondered how you can supercharge your content research to make it faster and save you more time each day?

Of course you have, that's why you’ve opened this newsletter!

We’ve all heard about the latest AI trends that are taking the digital world by storm, but have you figured out how to actually use them?

And while some fear that these robots are going to take over our jobs, there is one very important thing that they lack: what it is to be human. They lack compassion, empathy and sincerity - much of what hooks our audiences to read the stuff we write in the first place!

So, AI - in my opinion - is fantastic, as it can help simplify hard-to-understand context and give us some great pointers on how to structure our articles, but what it can’t take away from us writers is the ability to move the reader with our words. And that is OUR superpower!

I use ChatGPT quite often, and man, it can seriously take our writing to the next level…if we know how to use it correctly. And that is where my newsletter comes in.

So make yourself a cup of coffee and join me as I explain HOW to use AI for researching and how it can shave off at least two hours of your day!

🤖 What Can AI Actually Do For Us?

Imagine having a tireless research buddy, one who is ready to explore the vast realms of information on your behalf. Working literally at the speed of light, these robots can dish out information at the drop of a hat; speeding up your research in the process. BUT, you’ll have to do your own fact-checking, AI sucks at that!

It can broaden your horizons and give you some valuable insight into the topic you are writing about.

For example, I remember writing a medical article a while ago that involved researching over 1000 different kinds of amino acids for a balding head - ok, that's an over-exaggeration, but you know what I mean!

This was before ChatGPT’s time and I literately had to go through each amino acid type, one by one. It was the bane of my life and took forever to complete! Thinking back now: ChatGPT would have cut this research down by at least 40%!

By simply using the ‘link access’ key, - on the GPT 4 version - it would have analysed all the information I collected; giving me bulleted lists, explaining those crazy amino acid names in simpler terms, reviewing case studies, and made my life a heck of a lot easier in the long run.

What I’m trying to say is: when used effectively, you can ‘train’ these machines to work with you, not against you. And the result can be pretty amazing.

💡If you’ve been living under a rock and have no clue what AI (ChatGPT in this instance) can actually do, let me give you a quick rundown;
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• Content summaries: AI can quickly analyse and summarise long articles, research papers, or books. Writers can use AI-generated summaries to get an overview of a topic before delving deeper into specific areas.
• Keyword generation: Used to generate relevant keywords and phrases based on a given topic. This can help us in optimising our content for SEO and identify key terms to include.
• Search assistance: ChatGPT and similar AI tools can assist writers in refining their searches, suggesting additional keywords, and finding authoritative sources related to the topic on hand.
• Content inspiration: We can use AI-generated prompts and ideas to overcome writer's block or brainstorm new angles for articles. ChatGPT can provide creative prompts and suggestions.
• Fact-checking: AI-powered fact-checking tricks can help us quickly compare article briefs to our completed article. You can ask GPT to make sure they are aligned and it will tell you if it is or isn't - helping you fill the gaps and making future proofreading easier! Brilliant!
• Data analysis: AI can assist in processing and analysing data, making it easier for us writers to interpret research findings. Again, this needs to be coupled with your own research - I mean, ChatGPT can’t do everything for you!
• Content generation: While I do not recommend this (unless you want to produce a sub-par article that is), AI can generate basic content drafts or ideas to kickstart the writing process. It helps generate meta titles, descriptions and basic introduction or conclusion paragraphs at the click of a button. Writers can then refine and expand on this AI-generated content; making it your own so it hits home!
• Content enhancement: AI tools can provide suggestions for improving the clarity, and style of a writer's work, leading to more polished content. Simply copy and paste your written work into GPT with a prompt like; “Hey GPT, please analyse this article. Give me feedback on how to better structure the layout and highlight any wordy sentences for better clarity. Also, does this fulfil the readers’ needs? What questions would they have after reading this?”
• Personalised content: AI can analyse our previous work or reading styles (if/when you feed it into the system) and after a while, it's able to ‘copy’ the style in which we write or how we like GPT to give us feedback (i.e. paragraphs vs bulleted lists). The trick here is: the more you prompt and play around with GPT, the better the results!
• Content optimisation for SEO: As mentioned, AI tools can generate meta descriptions, title tags, and other on-page SEO elements to optimise content for search engines. You can even give GPT the primary keyword. Doing so, GPT can quickly give you a handful of suggestions to include the primary keyword naturally!

🤔 When Should We Use AI Tools?

I like to use ChatGPT for every article I do. Yep, every single one.

But, I gather my own organic research BEFORE I start using AI tools. This means, doing it the ‘old school’ way such as;

• Checking the SERP
• Checking ‘People Also Ask’ section
• Reading through competitor site articles
• Research on YouTube, Reddit, Quora, etc.

A co-worker gave me a really handy tip recently, which I use as part of my daily writing process. I gather all of my own research - as much of it as I can find - and slot this into a Word Document.

Then I copy and paste all of that information into ChatGPT, with a quick prompt like; “Hey ChatGPT, please summarise this [insert your research] for me.” Now I know that the information that I am going to use for my article is true and fact-based.

Coming back to that Word Document I mentioned, I like to check hotels, attractions, and restaurants on their official website to ensure the information is true - as many places have closed since the global pandemic!

Top tip: ChatGPT only has a knowledge base up until September 2021, so you can’t expect it to actually do the research for you; especially if you’re writing about ‘Best Bali Hotels For 2023’!

Once ChatGPT gives me a summarised version, I can then tweak the bits that are most relevant to my article.

At this point in your research you should already know;

1. The audience of your article,
2. The TOV to use, and
3. What is the most value your reader needs from this?

If you’re busy with a complicated piece and are not too sure about what tone or layout to use, ChatGPT can be a handy tool.

Here ar a couple of prompts I commonly use to get inside the head of my reader. It’s also a form of ‘prompt stacking’, when you keep adding to your original prompt and dive deeper as GPT gives you feedback.

1. “Can you tell me which type of person or audience would be most interested in an article about [insert keyword/topic]”
2. “What tone of voice would an audience like this most commonly use? Would it be casual and conversational, or more professional?”
3. “Why would this person or audience be interested in reading this type of article?”
4. “What are the key points about this topic that are best to be included?”

These are a few of the tried and tested prompts that I use on a regular basis. Once you have your summarised version of your gathered information and know which audience and tone of voice to use; the tweaking can begin.

Side note: It’s also a good idea to save all your research on your Google Drive. This can come in handy when writing about similar topics and gives you a quick headstart when needing to refer back to similar information.

🤿 AI Deep Dive

If you really want to add some descriptive elements to your writing, ChatGPT can do that for you. For example, if you’re researching a travel piece and have never been to South America before, then use this initial prompt.

Important note: You need to do this BEFORE you start to make sure GPT knows what to do!

- Now that you have prompted GPT to visualise and ‘experience’ South America, you can then ask it to explain the following in more detail;

• Landscape
• Climate
• Cuisine
• Sights
• Sounds
• Smells
• Famous landmarks, etc.

Once you get a better understanding of the area, your writing will become easier tenfold. There’s nothing worse than saying a place is hot and humid and then forgetting to mention it's prone to hurricanes and typhoons! Knowing these crucial details will make you a more trustworthy writer, one that will have readers coming back for more!

Helpful hints

• For travel pieces, ask ChatGPT to describe lesser-known gems or landmarks in the area, this will show that you're an expert in the area.
• For scientific pieces, ask ChatGPT to break down complicated terms, and ask it to describe the term/s as if they were explaining to a 10-year-old.
• For hotels, get ChatGPT to make comparisons for you, highlighting which places are better for tourists, families or solo travellers.
• For historical pieces, ask ChatGPT to make analogies that are similar to modern-day times to better convey your message.
• Prompt ChatGPT with the challenges your readers face and ask it to give you solutions/suggestions that answer these questions.

The use of AI is pretty much endless. But the key is to give ChatGPT clear prompts and instructions. You’ll also need a research plan in place; which I’ll touch on next.

🦾Actionable Tips: 5-Step Guide

Here's a 5-step guide on how to approach researching articles effectively:

1. Define your research goals 🏆

• Begin by clearly defining the purpose and objectives of your article. What is the main message you want to convey, and what do you want readers to take away from it?
• Identify the specific questions your article should answer or the problems it should address. What is the most value your readers are looking for? How can you add more value or benefits for them?

2. Do preliminary research 🔍

• Start with preliminary research to get a broad understanding of your topic. Use general sources like books, articles, and websites to gather background information.
• Jot down key concepts, terms, and potential keywords related to your topic. Anything you don’t understand, you can ask ChatGPT to explain in simpler terms. If you're working on a large project, building a high-level brief for the entire project is wise. Jotting down prominent words and complicated phrases or including quotes is great. The upfront work you do will pay off and you’ll eventually start creating connections!

3. Create a research plan 🗺️

• Develop a structured research plan that outlines the sources you need to consult and the information you need to gather, such as;
  • Primary sources: Interviews, surveys, experiments, or firsthand observations. Remember those amino acids I mentioned earlier?
  • Secondary sources: Books, academic papers, reputable websites, and expert opinions.
  • Tertiary sources: Encyclopedias, summaries, or databases for additional context.
• Determine the credibility and reliability of your sources. Official websites and well-established institutions are definitely more reliable.

4. Organise and evaluate information 🗄️

• As you gather information, organise it logically. Create an outline that helps you keep track of key points, quotes, and citations. Slotting your research into a Word Document is my best advice here; then copy and paste that baby into GPT to get the ball rolling!
• Continuously evaluate the relevance and reliability of the information you find. Ensure that it supports your article's goals and is from trustworthy sources.
• Identify any gaps in your research that need further explanations - can you ask GPT to fill these gaps in for you?

5. Analyse 🧮

• Synthesise the information you've collected to create a coherent narrative or argument for your article. Use your own voice to explain and analyse the findings.
• Ensure that your article flows smoothly and that the information is logically presented.

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🤦 Pitfalls Of Using AI

1. Quality control: As mentioned, AI tools lack a human touch. It may provide grammatically accurate but factually incorrect information which will impact the credibility of our writing. That's why it is best to couple this with your own research beforehand!
2. Knowledge limit: To add to the above point, ChatGPT is only equipped with information up until September 2021. If you need more recent information then you’ll have to do this yourself. Once you’ve gathered your information you can slot it into AI to analyse it for you.
3. Lack of creativity: I find that AI produces generic content suggestions, which shows it struggles with true creativity and originality. Relying too much on AI for your writing can result in dull content that won’t hook your reader.
4. Ethical concerns: AI can produce offensive or biased content if it has been trained on biased data. Be mindful of this with a touch of common sense!
5. Cost: While the ChatGPT 3.5 version is free to use, it does have a cap-limit on how many prompts you can use. ChatGPT 4 on the other hand is a paid version that may become costly to smaller businesses or writers to maintain.

So, there you have it!

A basic rundown on how AI can speed up your research process. By following these helpful tips you’ll definitely shave off hours from your week, allowing you to focus on what is most important: living your best life!

I’d love to hear your tricks and tips on how you speed up your research and writing, so do drop a comment below.

🥂Cheers to enjoying life,

Bergen Gill

Content Writer

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