Revamp Your Writing Workflow With These AI Tools
My writing workflow is exemplified by speed and judged by accurate, engaging content. I’ve been in the freelance content writing industry for five years, and over that time, I’ve tried and tested different processes and workflows to create better content.
But here’s the truth: nothing else has disrupted my workflow and the entire content writing industry in general in the same way that AI and ChatGPT have since it was first released last November. Gone are the days of the easy, digital nomad lifestyle.
So what am I doing about it?
How Content Writing Has Changed Over The Past Year
ChatGPT was first released to the public in November 2022 and quickly became the world’s fastest-growing application.
It’s revolutionized the way people have conversations online (you never really know if you’re talking to a robot) and transformed business operations by generating usable marketing content quickly and efficiently — though accuracy leaves something to be desired.
Companies like CNET, for example, have lorded over AI content and published over 75 articles in the following two months after the program’s release.
Others have not.
The goal of writing online content is still to post original, helpful, and authoritative articles online. While the goal has stayed the same, you can’t say the same about the process of getting there.
My Old Writing Workflow
I used to follow the age-old POWER writing process. It stands for Plan, Organize, Write, Edit, and Revise. It’s simple and easy to follow for beginner writers.
But when I got into content marketing and SEO, I changed the process to fit my needs better. Now, my process looks like this:
1.) Research: Check out the SERPs and do keyword research. In this stage, I figure out the content that needs to be included in my writing. I always like to write briefs that focus on the “who’s, how’s, and why’s” of the piece.
- Who are you writing for?
- How was this content created?
- Why should people read this piece?
2.) Outline: I have the information I need; my next step is to outline the article. During this stage, I focus on structure and flow. I double-checked to ensure that the reader could easily follow the organization of my article and leave all their questions answered.
3.) Write: I… write the article. I try my best not to edit the piece while writing. I want to let the natural flow of my words make its mark on my content.
4.) First Edit: I read over the piece and marked down passages that should have been done better. I rewrite these points, especially if I go on a tangent and talk about topics completely unrelated to the section.
5.) Second Edit: I do my final edits for the wall of words I’ve created. I focus on spelling and grammar while revising minor sections for better flow.
6.) Linking and Optimizing: SEO is a massive part of why I do what I do. The last part of my writing process is linking everything I can and adding infographics, photos, and videos. This helps feed the Google Algorithm with the right ingredients to help the article rank well.
Overall, this writing process takes, on average, about a full day to go through from start to finish. That’s around 8 hours for a full 1,500-word article.
AI Tools To Integrate Into My Workflow
Every marketing post over the past six months has been raving about AI. I did some digging and tested out some new programs. Here are some of the best AI tools I’ve used so far:
1.) Grammarly
Grammarly is a typing assistant that reviews your content’s spelling, grammar, punctuation, and even mistakes. I use Grammarly Pro to check my work because the free version doesn’t give nearly enough credits to give suggestions for the whole piece.
However, let me tell you that while it catches all of my spelling and grammar mistakes, I don’t necessarily agree with its recommendations that shorten my sentences. I think that many of their clarity errors are mostly stylistic choices that authors make to stand out.
2.) Hemingway Editor
Like Grammarly, Hemingway App is another content editor highlighting and correcting grammar and sentence structure. The best part about this tool is its text analyzer. It tells you exactly how readable your text is by grading it based on grade levels.
Its name, Hemingway, is derived from the notion that Ernest Hemingway became a popular writer not because of his ability to turn prose — but because his work was accessible to anyone (he wrote at a 4th to 6th-grade reading level).
3.) ChatGPT (gasp :o)
You normally don’t fraternize with the enemy. That’s Rules of War 101.
But I never thought of ChatGPT as the enemy. If anything, it’s a mentor that sets the bar for your work and gives you the information you need to improve it.
It’s a research library, outlining tool, and editor all at once. Make the most of what you have.
4.) Midjourney
Midjourney is an AI program that uses prompts to create images. You could either pay to use it or use it for free. While I haven’t capitalized on Midjourney for my blogs yet, I plan on using it to create still images for my YouTube channel.
5.) Consensus
Consensus is a search engine (like Google) that uses AI to extract information directly from scientific resources. I especially like using this resource for technical articles because it gives me the scientific evidence to support my claim.
While Google has done a great job serving the general public their search needs, I don’t want my articles to be linked to an indirect source or opinion piece when I’m writing about sensitive information. I want to get straight to the source, and Consensus gives me just that.
6.) ChatPDF
Think ChatGPT, but specific to PDFs. You could ask ChatPDF a question and it will scour a PDF to find the answer. You could use it on manuals, long essays, books, and research papers.
When I find a document I want to go through with Consensus, I run it through ChatPDF to get the lowdown of what’s in it.
How Will My Content Writing Workflow Change with AI?
Now I’ve either used or plan to use the tools mentioned above. They help me research, fact-check, and edit my work to create more accurate and authoritative content.
AI tools also help me do other things like…
1.) Focus on Facts
I could focus on fact-checking and developing insights from the data I’ve been given. Instead of relying on three to five sources for each section of my articles, I could easily read through and draw insights from ten to twenty.
Unless I’m talking about personal experiences and plans, expect dozens of sources backing up my claims in my content.
2.) Speed Up My Editing
I can only speak for myself, but I’ve timed myself and found that I save up to 50% of my time reading through my article and fixing grammatical errors.
2.) Build On My Experiences
Where old content may have given you a “How To..” guide, new age content will focus on telling you “How I…”. In every published piece, I will focus on connecting my personal experiences to whatever I discuss.
That’s how you build authority and trust with an audience.
3.) Create More Beautiful Content
The age of AI has created a lot of useless, long-form content. That means marketers are fighting for the attention of their audience.
Whether this is good or bad is up for debate, but I do know that content creators should replace the time they save on AI with time spent beautifying and creating more engaging AI content.
I believe that content writers should see themselves as content creators. To survive in the age of social media and shorter-than-a-goldfish attention span (look it up, it’s true), content creators should focus on building engaging content and learn how to write to emphasize certain points.
Learn UX and Website design and watch how it takes your content to new levels.
