AI will not fundamentally change your role as a Fractional CMO, despite what the masterminds and gurus are selling.
Are You Scared of AI?
This feels like January of 2020, when the pandemic was just starting to get some attention. I remember going to my gym in Fishtown, Philadelphia and talking with the owner about this “weird virus thing.” He didn’t think it was going to be a big deal. I thought there might be a lock-down until July 4. Obviously neither of us were right.
That’s where we are with AI.
There are some people freaking out about how everything is going to change.
And others who are utterly clueless.
I think academia is getting pretty worried about the implications of students writing theses and essays with a few prompts. Similar to the revolution Wikipedia brought about, but this time, much much more dramatic.
In marketing, there are the tacticians who are directly affected:
Content writers: If you’ve ever used a resource like WriterAccess to get blogs or articles created, you might have paid $0.1 to $0.12 a word for the best-of-the-best writer (I’m talking about ex-Jeopardy contestants!). I have to imagine that those writers are at least having AI write the first draft of their articles, then just making some minor edits and collecting their fee.
Copywriters: I’m seeing these folks really focus on harnessing AI. The take that I like is that copywriters will leverage AI to pull together creative ideas, cutting down the time to find The Big Idea. Tools like Jasper can help craft headlines, ad copy, email copy, and can absolutely support a copywriter. That said, I think the art of copywriting is safe from the robots, for now. There’s just so much consideration that is required in a good piece of copy that a simple Jasper prompt can’t repeatedly churn out.
Marketing agencies: Writing boilerplate content for websites? Crafting a more readable About Us page? For the reduction of suffering across all humankind, let’s hope agencies are leveraging AI to help with this necessary evil.
Things are going to change.
But then again, the only constant in life is that everything changes.
If you’ve been in the business game for more than a couple years, you’ve seen other revolutionary advances.
Take, for example, crypto.
We saw all-time highs for bitcoin and ethereum prices in November 2021. If you were plugged into that world, you probably heard of the Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) that were doing incredible, innovative work with smart contracts and their tokens.
Then the market saw a significant correction, wiping out over $700B in market capitalization over 6 months.
Some say that crypto is dead, but it’s clear the fundamental technology is here to stay. Development of the ethereum smart contract software Solidity began 7 years ago, and saw dramatic development over the…
There are countless ways to write copy that converts, but only one way to do it consistently: by using a framework.
The Power of a Copywriting Framework
Before we introduce you to one of our favorite frameworks, let’s unpack why you should use a framework to begin with.
Copywriting frameworks provide a structure to organize your ideas while ensuring you don’t mistakenly neglect any key points needed to achieve your goals. They’re simple to use, easy to remember, and most importantly, they drive results.
But not all copywriting frameworks are created equal. Some pack more punch than others. Let’s look at why:
Neuroscience teaches us purchasing decisions are strongly influenced by emotions, but it doesn’t stop there. The written word (and that includes email) has the power to make neurochemical connections in the brain that inspire brand loyalty…for life.
The L.O.V.E. email copywriting framework is designed to create emotional connections and build the trust needed to convert your prospects into buyers. Here’s a breakdown of how it works:
L is for “Leverage”
In the typical sense of the word, leverage means to take something (maybe even the simplest thing) and use it to maximum advantage. Does this principle apply to email copywriting? You bet. You only have one chance to make a great first impression. To do it well:
Remind readers why they’re receiving your email in the first place.
Be mindful of how your reader first learned about your brand. Whether they opted-in to your list in-store, through a lead magnet, or because they made a purchase, make sure your first email reminds them that they asked you to send them something.
Follow-through shows you pay attention and that your brand values integrity.
Capitalize on your existing authority & build trust.
People have a million things on their mind. You have to convince them that out of the many voices competing for their attention, yours is the one they can trust.
My name is John. I am the owner of The Luxury Cars Company. We have sold thousands of cars to people just like you!”
This email doesn’t incorporate any of the trust factors we mentioned above. In fact, it may even come across as arrogant and disengenuous. That’s definitely not what we’re going for!
What about this?
“Dear Susie,
My name is John and I am the owner of The Luxury Cars Company. We take pride in having helped countless people like yourself…
Once ChatGPT made its debut, the discussion about what it will do to marketing agencies started almost immediately. There have been tons of articles, videos, and podcasts on this topic. As a result, those in the industry are getting a lot of mixed messages about the impact and use of ChatGPT for marketing purposes.
If you’re feeling confused (and concerned for your business’s future), you’re not alone.
So, let’s talk about it…
How ChatGPT Can Be Used for Marketing
ChatGPT is an AI-powered chatbot that gives conversational responses to questions and prompts, making it a valuable tool for marketing purposes. Instead of typing a query into Google and reviewing each result, you can head over to ChatGPT and get a single answer. Plus, you can keep the conversation going to dive deeper into the topic or refine the responses.
Here are some common applications of ChatGPT for marketing:
It can help brainstorm new content ideas.
It can aid in keyword research for SEO.
It can generate ad copy.
It can be used to draft business emails and letters.
It can provide short descriptions for videos.
It can produce content for blogs, ebooks, etc.
It can assist in debugging code errors.
It can analyze customer data.
It can offer responses for customer service automation.
As you can see, there’s a lot of potential in applying ChatGPT for various marketing tasks. But that’s part of the problem—at least for some marketers. The fact that this transformative software can do all the above (and more) has left many marketing professionals scared.
Why Some Marketers Are Afraid of ChatGPT
One of the biggest concerns in the whole debate about ChatGPT is that the tool will negatively affect marketers. There’s a fear it will replace specific roles, including writers, programmers, PPC experts, and SEO specialists. But there’s also a fear it will wipe out marketing agencies entirely.
Basically, marketing professionals are worried that ChatGPT will make their jobs obsolete.
Part of this is because the applications of ChatGPT for marketing are growing by the day. As mentioned earlier, it can be used to complete a number of tasks that people usually handle. Its current capabilities are already impressive, and it will only improve with time.
The other part is the idea that ChatGPT might become a substitute for Google and other search engines. After all, it is more convenient to generate one answer than to scroll through multiple results on a SERP. So if more people opt for ChatGPT than Google, it could spell trouble for marketers specializing in SEO and paid advertising.
This isn’t the first time we’ve been threatened by new technology, and it probably won’t be the last. But that’s why it’s worth examining what we, as marketers, can do that ChatGPT can’t.
The benefits of being a T-shaped marketer and utilizing expertise from different digital fields to stay on top of this rapidly changing marketing landscape is crucial.
We are witnessing unprecedented levels of digital disruption in marketing. AI is also assuming more marketing responsibilities and raising concerns that human marketing roles might become obsolete.
This will most certainly not be the case. At least not anytime soon. But the ability to embrace new technologies quickly and implement marketing experiments independently can make the difference between success and be made redundant. This is where T-shaped marketers come in.
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By nature, T-shaped marketers are self-starters and doers. They do not confine themselves within the limits of their specialization but seek to understand all facets of digital marketing while achieving expertise in one.
Building a team of T-shaped marketers can be highly beneficial because it will ensure everyone understands the bigger picture while filling expertise gaps in different marketing specializations. Let’s take a closer look at the benefits of being a T-shaped marketer – for yourself and your company.
Benefits of being a T-shaped marketer
Generalists are capable of many things but do not excel in any. I-shaped marketers are specialists in one area of expertise. They carve their corner in a single space. On the other hand, T-shaped marketers are skilled in different marketing facets but experts in one.
Thus, one would easily say that T-shaped marketers are an excellent fit for agile, fast-paced environments and startup cultures. Here’s why:
1. Cross-Disciplinary Knowledge
T-shaped marketers can identify opportunities for collaboration with other teams across multiple disciplines, such as content marketing for lead generation and social media for community building. This can lead to more effective teamwork, increased efficiency, and reduced marketing costs.
For example, a T-shaped marketer conversant with digital and traditional marketing can use a digital advertising campaign to complement a more extensive print advertising campaign.
Furthermore, T-shaped marketers help companies manage diverse workloads, preventing them from hiring separate full-time marketers. They also understand how different marketing elements fit together and can allocate resources to guarantee the success of marketing campaigns.
2. Ability to Work in Any Industry
Most marketing initiatives or activities are industry agnostic. Being a T-shaped marketer makes handling various tasks in any company or industry easy. For context, you can seamlessly pivot and fit into a new market, technology, or industry without compromising quality service delivery.
AI is an opportunity, not a threat. The marketers who embrace change will see their capabilities expand faster than they ever thought possible. Marketers who hide or ignore the trends will be left behind.
There are two ways to look at this situation. Let’s start with the negative way…
The Lost Marketers on the Beach
All the marketers sat on a beautiful beach that went on far as the eye could see. They chatted, laughed, built sand castles, and played in the waves. Then the ocean started to recede; a little bit at first, but as the minutes ticked by, it got farther and farther away from the shore until it couldn’t be seen.
The marketers looked at each other perplexed… some thought it was funny and ran out onto the wet sand where the waves used to crash. Others remained were they were, and simply discussed the troubling disappearance of the ocean. Still others ran inland towards high ground, screaming for the rest to follow.
By the time the tsunami could be seen, it was too late for anyone to change their mind. The wave rose, and rose, and rose, and it got closer, and closer, and closer. It swept up the people who had run towards the ocean first, then the people who did nothing, and then pursued the ones who tried to prepare for its arrival.
Everything they had built on the beach was destroyed. Most of the marketers were lost, sucked into the ocean or smashed against the shore. The remainder stumbled across a desolate landscape, picking up the pieces of what they had built, and began reconstructing from scratch.
I’m sure you guessed that AI is the tsunami, and the three groups of marketers are the ones that are happy about AI but aren’t taking it seriously, the ones on the beach aren’t doing anything, and the ones heading for the hills understand that AI is a game changer and are starting to prepare.
The good news is, this isn’t the only way to look at this situation!
The Adventurous Marketers on the Frontier
The crew was ready. Cargo stowed, flight checklist reviewed, engines in the green… the countdown had begun. The count reached zero and like a match being struck, the ship leapt into the air climbing higher and higher, faster and faster until the mountains and waves devolved into a mat of green and blue, and the clouds billowed below.
They were headed towards space, where countless new stations had been constructed near resource-rich astroids… or maybe to the manufacturing plants on the moon… or to the growing colony on Mars… or to explore the moons of Jupiter. The crew was excited with the endless possibilities this new frontier had opened up.
There would be danger and fear, but that would be easily squashed by adventure and opportunity, driven by courage, energy, and a ravenous appetite for advancement.
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