Reader Rohan Iqubal sent me the following bit about chatgpt last week.
Been getting asked a lot about this recently.
And not to give any spoilers… but, I’m not exactly worried about it.
And in my opinion neither should anyone else with tight copywriting game:
“Hey Ben, this is my first time writing to you. Hope you don’t roast me lol. Just sending you something I found interesting. So, I was playing with chat gpt. And I gave the prompt. “Write copy for Warm Jackets”. Nothing particular. Nothing interesting in reply. UNTILLLLL, I asked it to write in Ben Settle’s voice. See, what it gave back. Looking up to your response too.”
Listen up, folks. Are you tired of shivering your ass off every time the temperature drops? Are you sick of wearing bulky, unflattering jackets that make you look like the Michelin Man?
Well, have I got the solution for you. Introducing the baddest, toughest, warmest jacket on the market. This baby’s got insulation technology that’ll make a Yeti jealous. Water-resistant exterior that’ll keep you dry in a monsoon. And pockets? Oh, we got pockets. Pockets for days.
But the real kicker? It’s got a slim fit design. That’s right, you can look like a million bucks while feeling like you’re wrapped in a heated blanket.
Don’t let Old Man Winter get the best of you. Step up to the plate and grab yourself one of these bad boys. Trust me, you won’t regret it.
Yeesh.
I ain’t exactly pacing the room worried about this sort of thing ever replacing or making obsolete my voice, my writing skills, my personality, or my email response, much less exceeding it. And if the above doesn’t shut up the nervous nellies worried about that sort of thing, nothing will.
More:
I give the great Matt Furey a lot of credit for showing the rest of us the way.
And the #1 thing I learned from studying his stuff is this:
Email is a transfer of emotion and energy from writer to the reader. Imagine, for example, A.I. trying to write an “RIP email” (like I recently did for Jim Yaghi and my dog Zoe) and not sounding completely cold and soulless.
I’m not saying A.I. doesn’t or won’t have a place.
Maybe it does/will.
I know some writers are saying they are using it.
And I’ve also seen how utterly stupid a lot of it looks when used “on” people I know.
In my opinion A.I. tech for copywriters is basically the sex dolls of direct response — the copywriting incels with no copywriting game when it comes to writing from the heart and the gut will have to use them some day if they want to score.
Who knows?
But if that happens I also have zero doubt they’ll have to keep settling for the bottom-of-the-barrel customers and leads nobody else wants, while those with some copywriting game swim in all the high quality customers and clients they can stand.
All right, I’ll leave you with one more thought.
I get lots of email, copywriting, & marketing inspiration from great movie directors.
Anyone who has read my emails or books or newsletter long enough knows this.
Probably even A.I. knows it at this point.
And if you want a guide on how to write emails that blow any A.I. generated copy to hell, read this bit by Martin Scorsese from 2019, when he talked about all the dumbed-down super hero movies that had by then peaked:
“I don’t see them. I tried, you know? But that’s not cinema. Honestly, the closest I can think of them, as well-made as they are, with actors doing the best they can under the circumstances, is theme parks. It isn’t the cinema of human beings trying to convey emotional, psychological experiences to another human being.”
Read the last sentence over and over and ever.
And apply to your emails henceforth.
That’s free advice.
Which means, probably most reading this will balk at it.
Not “cool” enough.
And so the game continues…
If you want to learn how to write emails the way I do, go here:
Ben Settle
