Why is Writing Content With AI Like Doing the Laundry?

It sounds like the setup to a cheesy joke from a book my 9-year-old brought home from the library, but when I stumbled into this analogy while chatting with Fractal's content writer Tim it actually hit home for both of us. So, why IS writing content with a generative AI platform like ChatGPT like doing the laundry?

The Setup: Separating the Laundry, or Writing a Prompt

The first thing you need to do when you want ChatGPT to spit out a blog post is ask it for one. If you've used an AI writing platform before, you'll know that this prompt has to be carefully crafted in order to get it to create what you want. To tie it into our laundry analogy, this is the process of separating your clothes into the correct loads based on colour or usage.

Instead of a lazy prompt, you could use something like: "I write for a marketing agency and one of our clients is looking to sell a new line of cat shampoo. As part of this, we want you to write a 5-step listicle of approximately 500 words in the style of Buzzfeed that details how to bathe a cat for the first time." This way, we've covered all our bases before starting.

The Middle: Drying the Laundry, or Editing Your Content

You don't want to put wet clothes into your drawers. In the same way, you don't want to send a blog post live without going through it and editing a bit. ChatGPT's biggest flaw is that it can confidently and convincingly present information that's just factually wrong. Take the time to cross reference your content and your research.

The End: Properly Folding and Hanging, or Promoting Your Content

It's easy to just put the blog up on your website, link to it on socials, then move on. But if you properly set up your blog's promotion campaign with tight custom audiences, SEO optimization, and search campaigns, you will ensure that your content is seen by the people most likely to need it.

So, why IS writing content with AI like doing the laundry? Because at first glance it might seem like something that takes no effort and gives you everything you want, but it actually takes thought, research, and a little elbow grease to create something that you're happy living with.