How to write with AI

Content creation is likely one of your biggest expenses in SEO. Every time you start a new site or expand an existing one, you're looking at thousands of dollars in writing costs alone.

Even worse, as competition increases you need more in-depth content to rank and that content needs to be updated regularly, resulting in even higher costs. 

The cost of content isn't just eating into your profits—it's actively preventing you from scaling. 

If you're paying $200 per article and need 100 articles to even get started in your niche, that's $20,000 out the gate. 

This massive up-front cost means:

• You can't test new niches quickly.

• Your competitors with deeper pockets can outpace you.

• You're forced to choose between quality and quantity.

• Your ROI timeline gets pushed further into the future.

Most people try to solve this by jumping straight into AI content creation. But this hardly ever works. 

Let me explain . . .

Why most people fail

Most people find some "ultimate ChatGPT prompt" online and try to use it for everything. These prompts are usually 2,000 words long and need customizing for every single article. Not only is this incredibly time consuming, but it also produces inconsistent results.

Others go the opposite route—not enough detail. They’ll ask ChatGPT to "write an article about X." The output is generic, lacks depth, and often reads like it was written by a robot trying to imitate a human—which it was.

Then there's the "perfect first draft" crowd. They spend hours tweaking prompts and settings, trying to get AI to produce publication-ready content in one shot. It’s not gonna happen, yet.

A better way forward

Over the last three months, I've sunk over twenty hours into developing a system that cuts content costs while actually improving quality. 

Here's how it works:

Step 1: Build your AI workspace

Instead of copying and pasting prompts, invest in a pro account with ChatGPT or Claude (I prefer Claude for writing). This allows you to create custom GPTs or projects that remember everything you tell them—just like training a regular writer.

Step 2: Load your custom GPT with critical information

Your custom GPT needs four key elements to succeed:

• Customer avatar: Provide detailed information about who you're writing for.

• Voice and style guidelines: Share your brand’s unique writing approach.

• Example articles: Share final versions of content it can reference.

• Copywriting frameworks: Include principles about hooks, curiosity gaps, structure, etc. The sky is the limit here, depending on what style of content you’re creating.

This initial two-hour-long setup saves hours of revision later.

Step 3: Write one heading at a time

In my experience, if you try to write a 2,000 word article all at once, AI is likely to hallucinate and spit out random factoids that may not be real. 

To avoid this, create your heading structure before you start writing and tell your custom GPT that you’re going to tackle the article one H2 or H3 at a time and to not move forward until you’ve approved their work.

Step 4: Optimize for speed, not perfection

Here's what most people miss: Your first draft should be fast, not perfect. I get rough drafts of 2,000-word articles in about twenty minutes, then spend an hour editing. This is dramatically faster than trying to craft perfect prompts.

Again, do not expect perfect output from AI. We’re not there yet.

You need to focus on feeding your custom GPT critical information within its knowledge base and then optimize for speed. You then spend the majority of your time perfecting the content that matters most, e.g., intros, hooks, calls to action, etc.

Your Next Steps:

Reading articles and theory is cool, but you know what will actually move the needle for your business?

Action. Don't just read this.

Implement it or send it to a team member.

Here's what to do next:

1. Sign up for Claude or ChatGPT Pro. 

2. Create your first custom GPT.

3. Gather your brand materials (avatar, style guide, examples).

4. Upload everything to your AI project.

5. Test with a simple keyword—focus on speed first.

6. Edit and refine the most important elements.