✨ the SPARK 170 ~ So much AI 🤯
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Welcome to the 170th issue of the SPARK. A weekly newsletter where inspiration meets real online strategies, behind-the-scenes stories, and a boatload of valuable resources. Hi,Reader, It’s a little crazy when you look at how fast AI has moved since last fall. We went from images of people with 18 fingers (on one hand) to images that are almost impossible to detect as AI… at least with the human eye. Most of what I use AI for is brainstorming and marketing material. Sometimes, I’ll play with some of the custom GPTs (coloring book pages! I was curious, so I had to test it), but I tend to stay in my lane (only so many hours in a day). I’ve even made a couple of my own custom GPTs. In the digital marketing space, it seems like every single new product or app that comes out is either AI-based or has an AI component. Which makes sense. To a certain extent, there’s the appearance of relevancy. If a tool has AI, well, then it must be cutting-edge, right? Wrong. 🤦♀️ If there isn’t a good use case for adding it, they risk denigrating the product… especially if they don’t have a road map for the future. In some ways, it seems like a race to the bottom. Take the automatic article generators, for example (I’m not referring to tools that walk you through creating an SEO-optimized article with keywords, etc.). They’re garbage. I’ve tested a few, and it would be faster to write something original than to edit what they churn out. Then, there are the writing tools that mimic existing tools, such as Jasper or Content at Scale. I see these and think, “Really? Another one?” Of course, there’s always room for competition, but many of these feel like the developer is chasing what they think could be a quick buck. I don’t know about you, but I tend to default to ChatGPT. I haven’t played with the latest version of Google Gemini (formerly Bard) yet, but I plan on testing it. Then there are the days when ChatGPT seems like it’s been drinking 🤪- that’s when I give Claude a go. Regardless of your tool, the key is to ensure you’re using it in a way that works for you and your business. Even if you come across a prompt that looks interesting, instead of trying the prompt, try to dissect the prompt and find a way to tweak it and make it your own. Yes, your prompts should sound like you, too. What’s really fun is discovering tools that do one specific thing really, really well (I’m sharing a couple of them with you today). But at the end of the day, the best tool to use is the one you’ll actually use. On the other hand… with all this discovering and using of AI tools I’ve never been more clear that my priority in my business is to SIMPLIFY things. So, as fun as it is to check this stuff out and keep my eyes and ears peeled, that’s not where my focus is. I don’t need to learn and train my own personal AI assistant (at least not yet) or train an AI chatbot for my site. My business and life aren’t that complicated. And I plan to keep it that way. The tools I use on a regular basis are probably some of the same tools you use:
In other words, if it’s not something I’m already doing, I don’t need to add a tool or tactic simply because it’s AI-based. Simplifying things for me means removing things from my life, not adding and automating them. Sidenote: if you have a tool that you love and saves you loads of time, hit reply and let me know. I’d love to share it here. SPARK Spotlight 🔥 This tool BLEW MY MIND. Drop in the URL to your website, answer a few questions, upload your logo and brand color, and VOILA! A huge selection of social media posts that sound like you! You can also edit, schedule, and post them.
A Little Brainpower 🧠 From a Berkeley Roboticist: “Ken Goldberg Isn’t Scared of AI and Doesn’t Think You Should Be Either.” Looks like Substack is kicking it up a notch. “Scoop: Substack is helping creators sell ads.” Yes. This is me. “Hate Marketing Yourself on LinkedIn? Here Are Ways to Make It Less Cringe.” Tool Time 🛠
This issue is brought to you by Tella.tv, simple & Content Snackz 🥨 Type of content to create: Your origin/founder story When we’ve been in business for a while, we forget that our story may inspire someone else to start their business or even keep going.
Be sure to include: Any iterations you’ve made (brand, offers, products, services), screenshots/photos if you have them (Try the Wayback Machine), and anything you think would be fun for your audience to know. Links: Link to any internal content that you may still have on your website that shows how your brand has evolved. HAHA… yep, pretty much. 🤣
Thanks to my friend Cheryl for this accurate meme.😉 My new KadenceWP site is FINALLY ready to go live! WOOHOO! I’m doing one final pass of links, and then I’m pulling the trigger tonight. I’ll send out the link tomorrow, so if you see anything that needs fixing, I’d be super appreciative if you’d let me know. This is the minimum viable, but it’s time. I’ve got more updates and things to launch on the site, but at some point, done is better than perfect, right? Have a wonderful day, my friends! |
