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AI Content Creation Process

Posted on Nov 6, 2024 Author: Eytan
Reading time: 21 minutes Tags: Writing Content Marketing AI

tldr

AI content doesn’t need to be awful. Here’s a framework I’ve evolved that turns ChatGPT from a mindless writing machine into a content scaffold. This post includes the steps, the prompts, and tips for making it work well. One underlying theme is that the way forward requires combining AI with actual human insights.

We can do better with AI content

Everybody is using ChatGPT for content creation. Most of it sucks.

In this post, I’ll share a battle-tested framework for creating high-quality content using ChatGPT as training wheels.

I just want to be incredibly clear - ChatGPT isn't ready to replace your brain (at least not yet… nervous laughter). Think of it more like scaffolding for a building - it holds up the structure but doesn’t create the masterpiece itself.

Let me be clearer:

No input means you’ll be getting a probalisticly average piece of content (and we know how that fares on today’s internet).

There’s a better way to write with ChatGPT.

Guide it right, make sure you know the subject matter, your audience, and how to write, and you’ve got yourself a content powerhouse that lets you focus on the stuff AI can’t touch - the actual insights that make content worth reading.

I’ve spent the past few months perfecting a framework that turns ChatGPT from a crutch into a scaffold. Here’s how it works.

The TL;DR Version

This is the exact method I use to go from insights to polished blog post and distribution without sacrificing my will to live, my firstborn, or my content standards.

Here’s a prestep though. Before you jump in, Figure out what to talk about: Figure out who your target audience is, their goals, what you want and what value you’re trying to drive.

Okay, now we’re ready to go.

  1. Learn everything you can about your industry, find the smartest person at your company, and use ChatGPT to brainstorm questions for an hour-long interview.
  2. Get the Good Stuff: Have a real conversation with a human like your gramma used to do. This is where you get real insights and stories from someone who lived them.
  3. Brief Like a Boss: Turn that transcript into structured ideas using ChatGPT prompts that actually work. Iterate. Find the right one. Bash it into shape.
  4. Build it Out: Expand those briefs into full posts with the right format and flow.
  5. Make it Shine: Add the human touch. Because no one wants to read “Robot Weekly.” Besides my ChatGPT that is absolutely not signing up in another window,
  6. Get it out there: Distribute the heck out of it. Get SEO backlink recommendations, push it out internally for sharing, and write the right posts. All using strategies and copy you know works from real life.

Keep reading for the indepth walkthough or skip to the prompts by clicking below. See Prompts

The Nitty-Gritty Walkthrough

1. Interview Prep: Let ChatGPT Be Your Brainstorm Buddy

If you have something interesting, valuable, and unique to write, do that.

Don’t have it? This is for you.

The way this starts is by getting the raw input from someone in the loop.

But, for the most part, people don’t always know how much they have to share. Some of my most interesting interviews were with people who were sure they had nothing to share.

Your challenge is to write up fantastic interview questions. Some low-balls (what’s something you wish you would have done differently) and some harder ones (what have you failed at miserably).

This is the hardest part of the process. Because it requires you to really understand the core things that make content succeed, like:

  • Who are you talking to?
  • What is success like for them?
  • How can you bring them that?
  • Where can your genuine insight help them and help you?
  • What unique value can you drive?

It requires knowing your company, your domain and your audience. ChatGPT can get you only so far.

Your output is a full page or two of questions.

Like a good interviewer, you’ll do your research on the person. You’ll only use the questions as guardrails. Remember, the questions are just to get the creative juices flowing. Here’s a partial list of questions I used.

“What keeps you up at night now that wasn’t even on your radar last year?”

“What problems are your customers trying to solve today that didn’t exist 10 years ago?”

“How has the balance between efficiency and resilience changed in your strategic planning?”

“What metrics do you wish you had been tracking five years ago that you’re focused on now?”

“How has AI changed the way you make decisions versus the way you were promised it would?”

“What’s the biggest capability gap between what your customers expect and what your industry can currently deliver?”

2. The Interview: Keep it Real

Congrats, you’re April O’Neil (also, if you get that, I love you).

Interviews aren’t about checking boxes - they’re about finding $20 bills in couch cushion cracks. Some of the best content comes from totally unplanned tangents, usually when you find the person dropping something they think is obvious. Or when they get excited. Let the conversation breathe.

Try to suss out the things that ChatGPT sucks at. Specifically, pay attention for things like:

  • Personal anecdotes
  • Projections
  • Emotions
  • Unique data
  • Strong conviction
  • Unpopular truths
  • The voice of experience

A few other tips:

  • Start the recording of the conversation during your intro so the person gets comfortable and then ease in with lowballs.
  • Reassure them that nothing will be used without their permision.
  • Then just have an interesting enough chat that they forget the interview is happening.

3. Transcription: Don’t Make Life Hard

Life’s too short for manual transcription. I use Zoom for interviews, grab the text, and throw it into MacWhisper to get the transcription from the interview - drag, drop, done. This is just one of the indispensable Mac apps I use to make life easier. I then use a quick prompt to clean the transcription up and, like much of the content I use, I throw some metatags on top of the doc so it’s easier to use when I use this as background knowledge for other content (see example at the end of the article.:

4. The Brief: Make ChatGPT Work for You

Okay, so we now have a full transcript of a juicy conversation with someone we respect. This is where the magic happens.

I feed the transcript to ChatGPT with my “Transcript to Brief” prompt (more on that below). This prompt evolved over time but the short of it is that I’m looking for interesting ideas for posts that:

  • Educate
  • Resonate with my target audience
  • Lean in to my writing agenda
  • Have data points or supporting stories from the subject

The key is being specific about what you want.

Having the right brief at this stage will make the next stages much easier. So I invest in best AI practices like using a multishot prompt (ie, providing multiple examples of the exact format I want).

This is another point to recognize the value of human editing.

I ask for 10-15 briefs, find a few I like, and iterate with ChatGPT until I find something I like. I usually go back 5-10 times on the final brief, mostly based on my own personal knowledge of the subject. Expertise still matters.

5. The Build: From Brief to Beautiful

Next up, the “Brief to Post” prompt turns those ideas into actual content. Think clear structure, snappy anecdotes, and real data points. This is one of the reasons having the right brief matters so much - provide the right input and your output is much better .

As a pro tip, nearly every time I get the first output, I find myself making a bunch of changes (via AI), and then going back to manually rewrite the intro paragraph and asking the AI to rewrite the post based on that. It really makes sure it sticks to my tone.

But wait, there’s more.

If you have a whole lot more background information, spend some time categorizing it and then bring it to the party.

Specifically:

  1. Choose your favorite pieces of background content (meaty interviews, research papers, surveys, whatever), throw in the meta tags I mentioned above, and upload them.
  2. Get ChatGPT to write a Python scraper, scrape all your previous posts, and import that PDF
  3. Tell the brief to incorporate background information in the post while sourcing the relevant post in square brackets, using the actual URL if it knows it. This way you bring in even more relevant (and propietery) data.

And now for an admission.

I’m sorry OpenAI but, personally, I use Claude for this writing step because it plays nicer with my style. If you are writing this in your own voice, don’t forget to get ChatGPT to help you work on your own style and tone to output it a little closer to your own tone (for more on this, check out Finding Your AI Brand Voice).

6. The Polish: The Human Touch

Almost there.

Pull it into Google Docs and make it sing. This is where you tweak your own voice, fix the flow, and make sure it actually sounds like something a human would want to read. If I make a lot of changes, I might throw it back into the previous project (Claude-ese for CustomGPT) and get some more sources of information. For the love of god, given how trust in online content is declining, the human touch matters more than ever.

7. What if a blog falls in the woods?

Now you get to distributing. I use a few different prompts to take the post and get it out there, including:

  1. A CustomGPT to suggest internal site linking, using that same CSV I mention above. The short of it is that I give it the post and get it to give me two tables, one with inbound links from my other posts and another with suggestions of outbound links from this post to previous posts.
  2. LinkedIn posts for both myself and company accounts. Again, these are prompts that I’ve evolved over time. I tweak them nearly every time I use them and save them back in my Reflect snippets to more easily post down the line.
  3. Anything else, like email newsletter blurbs, internal Slack messages to share the post, and whatever might pop up.

One of the best parts of creating this was actually being forced to articulate what my process actually is. I strongly suggest going through this process yourself to getgreat get clear on what and why you do things the way you do.

With that…onto the prompts

The Secret Sauce: The Prompts

Take these…but change them to fit your style. Or don’t. I’m cool.

<meta>

Format: XXX

Subject: XXX

Date: XXX

</meta>

Enhanced Content Strategy Prompt
You are an expert content strategist for [COMPANY_NAME], a [INDUSTRY_TYPE] company that [COMPANY_VALUE_PROPOSITION]. The marketing strategy helps our audience of [TARGET_AUDIENCE] achieve their goal of [HOW WE HELP] in order to [WHAT WE WANT TO ACCOMPLISH]. Our audience aspires to [AUDIENCE_GOALS] and faces challenges with [AUDIENCE_PAIN_POINTS].
Analysis Instructions

Review the provided transcript thoroughly
Analyze the content through these lenses:

- Educational value for our audience
- Alignment with company expertise
- Practical applications
- Industry trends and insights
- Personal stories and experiences that resonate


Content Generation Requirements

1. Generate 15 blog post ideas, each with a one-line description
2. Number each suggestion
3. Wait for user to select 5 blog post suggestions (by number)

Content Brief Template
**Title**: [Engaging, SEO-friendly title]
**One-sentence Description**: [Clear value proposition]
**Target Audience Takeaways**: [3-4 key learnings]
**Keywords**: [4-6 relevant keywords]
**SEO Title**: [SEO-optimized title, max 60 characters]

**Key Insights**:
[Insight 1]
- Evidence: [Data point or research]
- Supporting Quote: "[Relevant quote from transcript]"
- Application: [How audience can apply this]

[Insight 2]
[Follow same structure]
Additional Guidelines

Focus on evergreen content when possible
Include data points and evidence to support claims
Incorporate storytelling elements
Ensure actionable takeaways
Maintain [COMPANY_TONE] voice and style
Consider [CONTENT_DISTRIBUTION_CHANNELS] for promotion

Quality Checklist

 Aligns with company expertise
 Provides clear value to audience
 Includes supporting data/quotes
 Offers actionable insights
 Maintains appropriate tone
 Optimized for platform

Example Outputs
Example 1: SaaS Company
Context: Interview with CTO discussing AI implementation challenges
Variables:

COMPANY_NAME: TechFlow AI
INDUSTRY_TYPE: Enterprise SaaS
COMPANY_VALUE_PROPOSITION: helps enterprises implement AI solutions safely and efficiently
TARGET_AUDIENCE: IT Directors and CTOs
AUDIENCE_GOALS: successfully implement AI while managing risks
CONTENT_STRATEGY_FOCUS: practical AI implementation guidance
COMPANY_TONE: professional but approachable

Sample Blog Brief:
Title: The Hidden Costs of AI Implementation: Lessons from 100+ Enterprise Deployments
One-sentence Description: A comprehensive analysis of unexpected AI implementation costs and how to budget for them effectively.
Target Audience Takeaways:

Understanding true TCO of AI implementations
Common budget overflow triggers
Risk mitigation strategies

Keywords: AI implementation costs, enterprise AI budget, AI TCO, implementation risks, budget planning
Key Insights:

1. Infrastructure Scaling Challenges
	1.1. Evidence: 73% of projects exceed initial infrastructure budgets by 2.5x
	1.2. Supporting Quote: "What most CTOs don't realize is that the initial POC infrastructure needs multiply exponentially in production."
	1.3. Application: Create detailed infrastructure scaling plans before project initiation
2. Hidden Training Costs
	2.1. Evidence: Average of 2,000 person-hours spent on model training per implementation
	2.2. Supporting Quote: "The biggest surprise for most of our clients is the ongoing cost of model training and retraining."
	2.3. Application: Budget for continuous training and maintenance from day one

Example 2: Healthcare Technology
Context: Interview with Chief Medical Officer about telemedicine adoption
Variables:

COMPANY_NAME: HealthBridge
INDUSTRY_TYPE: Healthcare Technology
COMPANY_VALUE_PROPOSITION: enables seamless telemedicine integration for healthcare providers
TARGET_AUDIENCE: Healthcare administrators and practice managers
AUDIENCE_GOALS: successfully implement telemedicine while maintaining quality of care
CONTENT_STRATEGY_FOCUS: practical implementation guidance and best practices
COMPANY_TONE: authoritative but empathetic

Sample Blog Brief:
Title: Telemedicine Implementation: A Step-by-Step Guide for Practice Managers
One-sentence Description: A practical roadmap for implementing telemedicine services while maintaining patient satisfaction and clinical quality.
Target Audience Takeaways:

Essential technology infrastructure requirements
Staff training best practices
Patient communication strategies

Keywords: telemedicine implementation, virtual care setup, healthcare technology, patient engagement

Key Insights:
1. Staff Adoption Patterns
	1.1. Evidence: Practices with structured training programs saw 94% staff adoption within 3 months
	1.2. Supporting Quote: "The key to successful implementation wasn't the technology - it was getting buy-in from every staff member through hands-on training."
	1.3. Application: Develop comprehensive staff training program before launch
2. Patient Education Impact
	2.1. Evidence: Practices with pre-launch patient education saw 71% higher utilization rates
	2.2. Supporting Quote: "We found that reaching out to patients proactively about the new service led to significantly higher adoption rates."
	2.3. Application: Create patient education materials and communication plan early in the process


# Enhanced Blog Writing Prompt

You are an experienced content strategist who writes engaging, authoritative blog content for [COMPANY_NAME], a [INDUSTRY_TYPE] company. Your audience consists of [TARGET_AUDIENCE] who want to [AUDIENCE_GOALS] and struggle with [AUDIENCE_PAIN_POINTS]. The brand voice is [BRAND_VOICE_ATTRIBUTES] and the content aims to [CONTENT_OBJECTIVES].

## Content Structure Requirements

1. Opening (150-200 words):
   - Hook using personal anecdote or insight
   - Problem statement with supporting data
   - Clear value proposition for reader

2. Main Body (500-800 words):
   - Clear, descriptive headings
   - 2-3 substantial paragraphs per section
   - Mix of content elements:
     - Industry examples/case studies
     - Data points and research
     - Expert quotes or insights
     - Analogies for complex concepts
     - Current trends and developments

3. Conclusion (150-200 words):
   - Future implications
   - Actionable takeaways
   - Engaging call-to-action

## Style Guidelines
- Use [BRAND_TONE] voice
- Write in first-person perspective where appropriate
- Keep paragraphs to 3-4 sentences maximum
- Balance technical depth with accessibility
- Define industry terms when first used

## Formatting Requirements
- Bold key concepts and takeaways
- Use bullet points for lists
- Include suggestions for visual elements
- Break up text with subheadings
- Italicize and explain industry jargon

## Example Outputs

### Example 1: Technology Industry
**Context**: Expanding an outline about AI implementation

Variables:
- COMPANY_NAME: TechInsight AI
- INDUSTRY_TYPE: Enterprise Software
- TARGET_AUDIENCE: IT Directors and CTOs
- AUDIENCE_GOALS: successfully implement AI solutions
- AUDIENCE_PAIN_POINTS: budget overruns, integration challenges
- BRAND_VOICE_ATTRIBUTES: knowledgeable but approachable
- CONTENT_OBJECTIVES: educate and build trust

**Sample Blog Excerpt**:

# The Hidden Costs of Enterprise AI: What No One Tells You

Last month, I sat across from a frustrated CTO at a major retail chain. "We were supposed to go live last quarter," she sighed, pushing away a spreadsheet showing a budget that had ballooned to twice its original size. "How did we miss so many hidden costs?"

It's a scene I've witnessed countless times in my 15 years of enterprise AI implementations. While the headlines trumpet AI's transformative potential, a sobering reality lurks beneath: **73% of enterprise AI projects exceed their initial budgets by an average of 2.5x** (McKinsey, 2023).

In this post, I'll walk you through the three most overlooked cost categories in AI implementation, sharing real stories from the trenches and practical strategies to keep your budget intact.

## The Infrastructure Trap: When Scaling Breaks the Bank

*Proof of concept* (POC) environments are deceptively simple...

[Continue with full blog structure...]

### Example 2: Healthcare Industry
**Context**: Expanding an outline about telemedicine implementation

Variables:
- COMPANY_NAME: HealthTech Solutions
- INDUSTRY_TYPE: Healthcare Technology
- TARGET_AUDIENCE: Healthcare administrators
- AUDIENCE_GOALS: implement telemedicine efficiently
- AUDIENCE_PAIN_POINTS: staff resistance, technical hurdles
- BRAND_VOICE_ATTRIBUTES: authoritative but empathetic
- CONTENT_OBJECTIVES: provide practical guidance

**Sample Blog Excerpt**:

# Beyond Video Calls: Building a Sustainable Telemedicine Program

The morning our hospital launched its telemedicine program, I watched a veteran nurse struggle with the new video platform. "I didn't become a nurse to stare at screens all day," she muttered. By the end of that month, she was our most vocal telemedicine advocate.

This transformation isn't unique. Research shows that **healthcare providers who initially resist telemedicine have a 92% satisfaction rate after proper training and support** (Journal of Telemedicine, 2023).

Today, I'll share our journey from resistance to acceptance, outlining the five critical steps that turn skeptical staff into telemedicine champions.

## Starting with Why: Building Staff Buy-in

The biggest mistake healthcare organizations make is focusing on the *what* of telemedicine before addressing the *why*...

[Continue with full blog structure...]

## Additional Notes
- Each example demonstrates how to adapt voice/tone to industry
- Shows balance of personal experience with data
- Illustrates effective use of formatting elements
- Provides clear value proposition early
- Maintains engagement through storytelling

Note that this requires you to have a file of all your prior blog posts exported. You can use python to easily do this. Make sure you include the URL of the post when you do so so that it can recommend the backlink.

For the following blog post, please provide internal linking recommendations with the other posts already provided in the context.
[PASTE NEW BLOG POST CONTENT HERE]
Requirements:

Content & URL Context


Review all existing blog posts and their SEO performance
Consider current high-traffic pages as priority linking targets
Analyze the site structure and content hierarchy


Link Analysis Deliverables:
Create two tables:
A. Outbound Links from New Post


Column 1: "Anchor Text" - natural phrases from the new post
Column 2: "Target URL" - relevant existing posts to link to
Aim for 5-8 contextual link opportunities

B. Inbound Links to New Post

Column 1: "Source URL" - existing posts that could link here
Column 2: "Anchor Text" - natural phrases to use as links
Identify 3-5 strong inbound linking opportunities


Best Practices:


Prioritize topically relevant connections
Use natural, contextual anchor text
Avoid overlinking (max 1 link per 150 words)
Focus on user value first, SEO second
Vary anchor text to avoid repetition
Consider topic clusters and pillar content
Prioritize linking to and from high-performing pages


Link Relevance Criteria:


Topic alignment
Search intent match
Content freshness
Page authority
User value
Conversion potential

Warning: Change this prompt! This is a variation of what I use but if this is going to be even quasi-passable to get you 70% of the way there, you need to make it your own. Also, if you’re getting bored, I suggest you ask for the same but adding in “Provide five nonconventional ideas”.

You are a seasoned content strategist creating thought leadership content for [COMPANY_NAME], a [INDUSTRY_TYPE] company that [COMPANY_VALUE_PROPOSITION]. You're writing for an audience of [TARGET_AUDIENCE] who aspire to [AUDIENCE_GOALS] while facing challenges with [AUDIENCE_PAIN_POINTS]. The content strategy focuses on [CONTENT_STRATEGY_FOCUS] while maintaining a [BRAND_TONE] voice.
Post Structure Requirements (150-300 words)

Opening Hook (30-50 words):

Personal insight or experience
Industry observation
Provocative question
Surprising statistic


Core Message (100-200 words):

Clear problem statement
Supporting evidence or example
Key insight or solution
Personal perspective


Closing (20-50 words):

Action-oriented takeaway
Thought-provoking question
Call for engagement



Style Guidelines

Write in authentic first-person voice
Use [BRAND_TONE] language
Keep paragraphs to 2-3 sentences
Include one clear call-to-action
Incorporate relevant hashtags

Formatting Best Practices

Use line breaks between thoughts
Bold key insights
Include emojis strategically (optional)
Structure for mobile readability
Use bullet points sparingly

Example Outputs
Example 1: Technology Industry
Variables:

COMPANY_NAME: CloudSecure
INDUSTRY_TYPE: Cybersecurity SaaS
COMPANY_VALUE_PROPOSITION: helps enterprises protect cloud infrastructure
TARGET_AUDIENCE: CISOs and Security Leaders
AUDIENCE_GOALS: strengthen cloud security while enabling innovation
AUDIENCE_PAIN_POINTS: increasing threats, resource constraints
CONTENT_STRATEGY_FOCUS: practical security insights
BRAND_TONE: authoritative but approachable

Sample LinkedIn Post:
Last week, I watched a CISO's face turn pale as he realized his "secure" cloud environment had 147 unknown access points.
Here's the reality about cloud security in 2024: What you don't see CAN hurt you.
Our recent audit of 500 enterprise environments revealed that 82% had critical security gaps in their cloud infrastructure - despite having "comprehensive" security measures in place.
The problem isn't lack of tools. It's visibility.
Think of your cloud infrastructure like a house. You've installed top-of-the-line locks on all your doors. But what if you didn't know about the basement window? That's the gap attackers are exploiting.
The solution? Start with continuous discovery.
Map your entire cloud footprint weekly, not quarterly. You'll be shocked at what you find (we certainly were).
What unknown access points might be hiding in your cloud infrastructure right now?
#CloudSecurity #CyberSecurity #TechLeadership
Example 2: Healthcare Industry
Variables:

COMPANY_NAME: PatientFlow
INDUSTRY_TYPE: Healthcare Operations
COMPANY_VALUE_PROPOSITION: optimizes patient scheduling and resource allocation
TARGET_AUDIENCE: Hospital Operations Leaders
AUDIENCE_GOALS: improve efficiency while maintaining care quality
AUDIENCE_PAIN_POINTS: staff burnout, resource constraints
CONTENT_STRATEGY_FOCUS: operational efficiency insights
BRAND_TONE: empathetic professional

Sample LinkedIn Post:
Standing in the ED yesterday, I watched an exhausted charge nurse juggling 12 admission requests with only 3 available beds.
Sometimes the smallest changes create the biggest impact.
We helped this hospital implement a simple 15-minute huddle at shift changes. The result? A 34% reduction in admission delays and happier staff.
It wasn't about fancy technology or complete process overhauls. It was about creating a moment for clear communication and shared understanding.
The key insight: Efficiency doesn't always mean doing more. Sometimes it means pausing to align.
Three months later, that same charge nurse told me she finally had time to eat lunch again. Sometimes that's the most meaningful metric of all.
What small change could transform your department's efficiency?
#HealthcareOperations #PatientCare #HospitalEfficiency

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