ChatGPT has garnered much attention for its ability to generate impressive text from scratch.
But it is crucial to understand that ChatGPT is not a magical solution for producing top-notch content without any human effort.
To put it short, ChatGPT is not a secret to blogging success.
At its core, ChatGPT is an AI assistant. It helps you streamline and improve your writing process, rather than doing your work.
Approach ChatGPT as a powerful tool that can aid you in articulating your thoughts rather than a secret recipe for instant blogging success.
By setting realistic expectations and understanding the limitations of ChatGPT, you can make the most out of this technological marvel.
This post shows you how you can/cannot use ChatGPT (or any other AI tool) to write blog posts.
3 Ways to Use ChatGPT to Write Blog Posts
Let’s delve into the best practices for using ChatGPT to enhance your blog writing experience while maintaining a clear focus on the importance of human input.
#1 Refine Your Writing with ChatGPT
ChatGPT can be a useful resource when it comes to refining and clarifying your writing.
Often, we find ourselves trying to express an idea, but the phrasing ends up being convoluted or unclear. This is where ChatGPT comes in handy.
It helps you to rephrase and simplify your message, making it more digestible for your readers.
Let’s take a look at an example of how ChatGPT can turn an overly complicated sentence into a more straightforward and coherent one.
Before ChatGPT: “The multifaceted and intricate nature of the synergistic interplay between numerous factors in the convoluted sphere of human behavior demands an exhaustive and comprehensive understanding of the underlying complexities.“
After ChatGPT: “Understanding human behavior requires examining the many factors that interact with each other in complex ways.“
The revised sentence is significantly clearer and more concise.
By using ChatGPT to rephrase your writing, you can ensure that your message is easily understood by your audience, without sacrificing its core meaning.
Just make sure that the facts remain and that the rephrased text is actually easier to understand.
#2 Write Formality Content (e.g. Intros)
While ChatGPT can be particularly helpful in refining your writing, it can also serve as a useful tool for generating introductions, and conclusions and providing general information in your blog posts.
This helps you save time and allows you to focus on pouring actual value into the content.
ChatGPT is not always right, though!
Despite its impressive capabilities, it can sometimes make mistakes, even with basic information.
Make sure to carefully review and edit any AI-generated content to ensure that it is accurate, aligns with your perspective, and does not inadvertently spread misinformation.
When using ChatGPT to craft introductions, pay close attention to the tone and focus of the generated content.
Make sure it sets the stage for your post without making unrealistic claims or giving a false impression of the AI’s capabilities.
In the case of conclusions, ensure that ChatGPT effectively summarizes the key points of your post and provides a coherent closing without deviating from your original intent.
For basic information, double-check the facts and data provided by ChatGPT. It sometimes generates content based on outdated or incorrect information. Always cross-verify the information with reliable sources to maintain the credibility and accuracy of your blog post.
#3 Turn Your Expertise into Blog Posts
In my opinion, the best way to use ChatGPT is to help you turn your thoughts, research results, and experiences into well-structured and enjoyable-to-read blog posts.
However, it’s crucial to recognize that ChatGPT is not a substitute for genuine human insight and experience.
You, the writer, are responsible for providing real value to your content.
You must conduct the necessary groundwork, such as testing products, gathering research data, or reflecting on your own experiences and expertise.
ChatGPT cannot perform these tasks or think like a human.
Its primary purpose is to assist you in generating text based on the information you provide.
To effectively use ChatGPT in this capacity, begin by organizing your thoughts and key points in a clear and concise manner.
A bulleted list or a brief outline can be an excellent starting point.
This will serve as a foundation for ChatGPT to expand upon, turning your main points into a more comprehensive and engaging blog post section.
For example, let’s say you’ve tested a pair of running shoes. To write a blog post that reviews the shoes, you can tell ChatGPT the following details:
- Comfort level
- Traction on various surfaces
- Breathability
- Overall design and aesthetics
- Price and value for money
From these ChatGPT can turn your messages into full-blown text chapters.
Remember, the real value of your content lies in your unique thoughts, experiences, and expertise.
ChatGPT is simply a tool to help you articulate and present these insights in a more compelling and reader-friendly manner.
By leveraging ChatGPT as a writing assistant and combining it with your own expertise, you can create blog posts that truly stand out and “add to the internet.”
3 Ways NOT to Use ChatGPT in Blogging
As we’ve discussed, ChatGPT is a powerful tool for enhancing your writing process.
However, it is equally important to recognize what ChatGPT cannot do and what you shouldn’t expect from it.
In this section, we will address one of the key limitations of ChatGPT: it cannot create value from thin air.
#1 Creating Value and Originality
As a mathematical model, ChatGPT operates by taking input and predicting an output based on the patterns it has learned from the data it was trained on.
It doesn’t possess the ability to think or process information like a human.
Its capabilities are basically restricted to rewriting text it has seen on the internet.
Relying on ChatGPT to write a blog post from start to finish is not a viable strategy.
While it can produce content that appears impressive and well-written, it lacks the depth of understanding and relatability that comes with genuine human expertise and experience.
Furthermore, the less information there is about a topic, the less ChatGPT knows about it. Also, some information is limited so ChatGPT cannot even give it a chance.
If you write a blog post about something you’re not too familiar with, ChatGPT-generated content might look impressive—but this is a trap!
ChatGPT can create content that looks good on the surface, but its lack of originality and added value will likely hinder its performance in search engine rankings.
This is similar to what often happens with some freelance writers.
Those freelancers that work at a fast pace might read a few resources and rephrase the content without truly understanding or relating to the topic.
This results in generic and superficial writing—very similar to what ChatGPT can create.
#2 Creating Images
Another limitation of ChatGPT is its inability to create images that truly support your blog post content.
While AI can indeed generate visually appealing stock images, it cannot conduct a study and present the results in a well-designed graph.
For example, look at this image I generated with an AI image generator:
This image looks cool, but it doesn’t really help deliver the message of this post (other than offering a break for the eyes).
These tasks require human input, research, and effort. Also, these are what make blog posts truly valuable and insightful reads.
Providing relevant visuals, like screenshots, custom illustrations, or informative graphs, can significantly enhance the user experience and improve the overall quality of your blog post.
Invest time and effort into research, writing, and creating or sourcing relevant visuals that complement your text. Otherwise, that #1 spot on Google is far beyond your reach!
#3 Content Spinning
Spinning content involves taking an existing piece of writing and rephrasing it to create a seemingly “new” article.
Not only is it unethical to do this, but it doesn’t really make any sense. At least it won’t give you success in search engines.
ChatGPT can indeed help you rephrase and rewrite the text. But using it to spin other people’s content simply results in replicating the original post without adding anything to the internet.
This lack of originality and added value will ultimately prevent your content from ranking well on search engine results pages.
Search engines like Google prioritize content that is fresh, informative, and engaging.
Their algorithms identify (and punish) spun content. Relying on such practices can not only limit your blog’s visibility but also damage your reputation.
Instead of spinning content, focus on using ChatGPT as a tool to enhance your own original ideas and research.
By investing time and effort into crafting high-quality, informative, and engaging content, you can build a strong online presence and establish yourself as a trusted resource on your topic.
Wrapping Up
ChatGPT is awesome! It can help you turn your expertise into enjoyable blog posts. But it’s not a secret to success.
As a text-based AI tool, ChatGPT cannot create value from thin air. It doesn’t write unique content, generate supportive images or overall replace genuine human thought and expertise.
Ultimately, the key to harnessing ChatGPT’s potential lies in combining its capabilities with your unique insights, experiences, and research.
By using ChatGPT as an assistant rather than a substitute for your own expertise, you can create high-quality, engaging, and informative blog posts. Those can truly resonate with your audience and perform well on search engines.
As you continue to explore the world of AI-assisted writing, remember that there are no free lunches on the table. Anything that sounds too good to be true probably is.
A well-rounded, hard-working, and ethical approach will set you apart in the digital landscape. Work hard and smart!
Happy blogging!
By the way, I wrote this article with ChatGPT. It actually took longer than without ChatGPT 🙂
Here’s how I did it:
– Told ChatGPT what to write (30 minutes of chatting)
– Read through the post to ensure unchanged opinions (5 minutes)
– Carefully removed 30% of irrelevant/repetitive text (30 minutes)
– Formatted the post (sectioning, bold, italics, etc.) (15 minutes)
– Screenshots and generated images (15 minutes)
– Read the post through (5 minutes)
Total: about 100 minutes of work.
I can easily do a post like this in under 75 minutes without AI. But this time, I wanted to give it an extra nice touch with ChatGPT 🙂
Only use AI to write posts if it actually makes them even better!