Nick Usborne Blog
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Hi, I am Nick Usborne - a copywriter, author, and instructor. In this blog, I share actionable advice to help you write better sales copy for the web and for email and stronger content for your content marketing.
Nick Usborne Blog
2w ago
Emotions don’t happen just in our minds.
Emotions stimulate physiological responses… like changes in heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate, facial expressions, and muscle tension.
These physical responses are mediated by the autonomic nervous system, and the release of hormones.
Long story short… any emotion you feel is accompanied by a physical response.
As humans, we live, touch and breathe emotions.
It’s worth taking a pause and thinking about this. It’s easy to think of emotions as something that we feel only in our minds. But in fact, emotions stimulate full mind and body reaction ..read more
Nick Usborne Blog
3w ago
The question in the headline was asked by a good friend, and highly-regarded copywriter.
It’s a totally legitimate question. As professional copywriters we can write better than any AI, and we naturally infuse our work with emotion… because we know it works.
So… if we can do all that on our own, why do I recommend that people dive into AI, use tools like ChatGPT, and then infuse the AI output with Emotional Intelligence?
Why make it complicated? Why not just carry on as normal?
To find an answer, let’s go back to 1907…
Let’s imagine it’s 1907, and you have a profitable courier service, focuse ..read more
Nick Usborne Blog
1M ago
It’s easy for writers and copywriters to roll their eyes when they hear about AI writing tools.
At their current level of performance, these tools often produce generic, slightly robotic text that can’t entirely replicate that unique human touch in writing. The sentiment I hear a lot is, “Sure, AI can write, but it won’t write well.”
Here’s the thing… dismissing or ignoring AI writing tools outright because of their current limitations is a mistake. The trajectory of this technology is moving fast… and should have every writer paying close attention.
Technological Leaps Happen Quickly
Anyone ..read more
Nick Usborne Blog
1M ago
As a freelancer, I am my brand.
I’m me… the good, the bad and the less-than-perfect.
Human, through and through.
I do my best to keep the less-than-perfect parts to myself. But even if they peek out from behind the curtain from time to time, that’s not so bad.
It just shows I’m real.
More specifically, it shows I’m not an Artificial Intelligence.
It’s time to be more human.
AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and others are flooding the web with millions of pages of new content. The quality of the content varies, from average to pretty good.
But almost all of it has a generic vibe. More sp ..read more
Nick Usborne Blog
1M ago
Using AI to write copy and content offers incredible productivity benefits.
But… AI output can feel dry and generic. It packs no emotional punch.
That’s why I advocate leading with a high level of emotional intelligence. At every stage of using these AI writing tools, ask yourself how to make the copy more emotionally engaging.
One of the easiest and most powerful ways to do this is to use stories. Everyone loves stories. And in the world of marketing, some of the most powerful stories are the ones that include some kind of customer transformation.
Customer-centered stories have a huge impact ..read more
Nick Usborne Blog
1M ago
This year we’ll see some significant advances in the field of AI. And yes, some of those advances will impact our work as freelance copywriters.
It’s time to lean in and get ahead of the curve.
You need a plan. And that plan can’t be “Sit tight and do nothing”. The way things are, you can get ahead and profit from the rise of AI. Or you can fall behind.
There’s no middle ground. Sitting tight means falling behind.
Part of that plan could be to diversify the services you offer as a writer, and include one of two services that focus on AI.
Take a look at the services page on your website, or yo ..read more
Nick Usborne Blog
2M ago
I remember when I made my big shift from offline copywriting to online copywriting… way back in 1997.
One of the things that changed – had to change – was my network of contacts.
For the most part, the people I knew in the offline world weren’t following me online. At least, not right away.
That meant I needed to develop a new network of contacts and potential clients.
Plus, I needed to update my bookmarks and subscriptions too. Which newsletters should I subscribe to? Which websites should I visit regularly?
And what else did I need to learn in order to flourish in this new world?
Well… We’r ..read more
Nick Usborne Blog
2M ago
We’ve now had over a year to become proficient with AI writing tools like ChatGPT.
Many of us now use these tools to help with brainstorming, research, outlines, and first drafts.
And there is no question that companies large and small are attracted by the price and productivity benefits of using AI to help produce more content at lower costs.
But…
Are you optimizing that copy and content for Emotional Intelligence?
Let’s break that question into 3 areas.
#1 – Be aware of the emotional persona of the company you’re writing for.
Some brands are deliberate about evoking emotions and feelings.
D ..read more
Nick Usborne Blog
2M ago
That’s an astonishing number.
To be fair, the IMF is careful to point out that they are absolutely not saying 60% of jobs will be replaced by AI. In fact, they divide things down the middle.
About 30% of jobs will be impacted in a largely positive way, through increases in productivity and improved skills. While the other 30% of jobs will be impacted in a more negative way, up to and including the loss of those jobs altogether.
Whichever way you slice it, these numbers are really, really high… and put us on notice that we need to take action before it’s too late.
And yes… marketing, writing ..read more
Nick Usborne Blog
2M ago
Here’s a process any copywriter can use to incorporate both AI and emotional intelligence into their sales copy.
Interestingly, this process wasn’t structured and written by me. It was created by GPT-4. It even came up with our copywriter’s name… Emma.
All I did was provide the prompt.
That said, if you tried the exact same prompt yourself, you probably wouldn’t get quite the same result… for a couple of reasons.
First, what I share below represent the last two steps in a longer back and forth between myself and GPT-4. In other words, there’s more context at play here.
Second, I didn’t use th ..read more