Writers have been thrown into crisis this year due to AI. By this late month, I’ve explored the tools, read articles, written articles, and even started keeping a list of smart prompts. I’ve also used AI to write some posts for clients on common topics in their business. But what reassures me against AI putting me out of a job is the fact that much of the work I do is extracting content from the people who want to publish it. That’s harder to do with AI (for those who argue I could be replaced by a voice recorder, or that AI will figure this out, read on. Also, sticking out my tongue in your general direction).
Thought leadership is a term that many think pertains mainly to executives in large companies, but I’d argue that anyone who wishes to create content for their audience, or anyone who has opinions borne of experience to share, is also engaging in thought leadership. You’re curating what you think are the most important topics for your readership, then you’re adding your personal take on it. You may also be rounding up information from others that you’ve found helpful and want to share. In other words, your ideal content personalizes a take that can only come from you.
Or you with my help.
One reason people don’t always get their perspective out there is because they’re too busy. Sometimes they ask someone like me to write a post via AI about their topic, but then complain that it’s generic. And certainly not capturing their own thoughts about the topic. How I help is to be a sounding board and content extractor, helping you reach into your own head and brain dump all that information on topics that you didn’t know you knew so much about.
Through interviewing, my probing/dumb/interested questions help to draw out those details. My follow-up questions especially help you to realize what the average person doesn’t know about your topic, and soon you’re adding extra stories and fun details that make the ideas come alive (I’ll continue to ask you dumb questions until you do). Then I write up, not faster than AI but usually faster than people whose expertise is not in writing. Then instead of a generic topic, you have a personalized post that came from you, with your ideas stories and advice that others need.
