Building Community and Sharing Experiences in Freelancing

This week on the Boagworld Show, we’re diving deep into user-focused content creation, leveraging AI, optimizing web copy for better UX and conversions, and discussing the importance of community and balancing work-life commitments. Get ready for some insightful tips and strategies!

Embracing User-Centric Content Creation

In this episode, we break down how to transform user questions into actionable, engaging web content. By focusing on the needs of your audience, you can ensure your content is both relevant and effective.

AI-Powered Content Drafting

Creating content that truly resonates with your audience can be challenging, especially when you're starting from a blank page. That's where AI comes in. We explore how AI tools like ChatGPT can help you streamline content creation and make the process more efficient, ultimately resulting in higher quality and more engaging web copy.

Here’s how we approach content with AI:

Start with User Questions

We begin by gathering the most pressing questions that users have. This approach keeps our content user-focused from the outset, ensuring we are addressing real concerns rather than guessing what information users might need. These questions can come from surveys, sales team insights, or even customer support tickets.

Generate an Initial Draft with AI

Once we have a list of key questions, we feed this information into ChatGPT. The AI uses these prompts to generate an initial draft of the content, aiming to create clear, informative answers that directly address user concerns. This draft can include everything from landing pages to blog post content, tailored around user needs.

The advantage here is that AI eliminates the intimidation factor of starting with a blank page. It gives you a solid foundation, which is especially helpful for clients or teams who may not be experienced copywriters. This step makes the entire content creation process faster and ensures that all essential information is covered.

Refining with AI Assistance

After creating the draft, it’s time to refine. This is where the magic happens. We often take the AI-generated content and run it through additional prompts to adjust the tone, make it skimmable, or ensure it aligns with the brand’s voice. For instance, we might ask the AI to “make the content more concise” or “make it friendlier.” Tools like Hemingway can also help simplify sentences, ensuring the final product is easy to read and accessible to a wider audience.

AI also has the power to break down content into bite-sized, skimmable blocks. This step is crucial for web content where users typically scan rather than read in depth. We instruct the AI to organize the content into digestible sections with appropriate headings, bullet points, and short paragraphs that make the content easier to navigate.

Keyword Integration and Tone Adjustment

Finally, we use AI to add a bit of polish. If the project requires SEO considerations, we prompt the AI to include specific keywords strategically throughout the copy. AI can also adjust the tone to match the brand—whether the client wants a formal, professional voice or a more casual, conversational approach. The result is content that’s not only user-friendly but also aligned with strategic goals like SEO and brand consistency.

Client Collaboration Made Easy

With the refined content draft ready, we present it to the client for feedback. Since the content is already in a solid state, clients don’t have to start from scratch. Instead, they can focus on tweaking and tailoring the copy to match their unique insights or adding details we may have missed. This collaborative process helps ensure the content reflects both user needs and business goals without the burden of starting from a blank page.

AI-powered content drafting transforms a daunting process into an efficient, collaborative, and user-centric approach. Whether you're a designer, marketer, or client, leveraging AI for initial content drafts can significantly enhance the quality and relevance of the web copy, while saving time and effort.

Hemingway App: Simplifying Web Copy

Our app of the week is Hemingway, an editing tool that simplifies your content by keeping it concise and readable. Ideal for web copy, it encourages shorter sentences, simpler language, and a lower reading level—perfect for making your site more skimmable and user-friendly.

Content Creation Hacks for Landing Pages

We share a few content tips specifically for landing pages:

• Write content that answers user questions directly: Start by identifying the key questions your target audience has and make sure your content provides clear, concise answers. Addressing user concerns directly helps build trust and relevance.
• Break up text into content blocks for readability: Use headings, bullet points, and short paragraphs to make your content easy to scan. Most users don’t read web content word for word, so structuring it into digestible pieces ensures key points stand out.
• Use AI and tools like Hemingway to speed up the process: Leverage AI tools to generate initial drafts quickly, and use editing apps like Hemingway to refine the readability of your content. AI can help overcome writer’s block and create a strong starting point, while Hemingway ensures your content is concise and accessible.
• Incorporate visuals to enhance engagement: Adding images, diagrams, or icons can break up text-heavy pages and make content more visually appealing. Visuals help convey information more effectively and keep users engaged.
• Iterate and test your content: Don’t settle for the first draft. Use tools like A/B testing to determine which content formats and approaches resonate most with your audience. Continuous iteration will help you refine your content strategy for better results.

Balancing Work Commitments and Life on the Road

This episode also featured some insights into work-life balance, especially when working remotely. Paul shared his experience traveling in an RV, using Starlink to stay connected while driving through Canada. It’s a reminder that remote work opens up opportunities for adventure, but also comes with challenges like managing meetings in different time zones.

Community and the Power of Shared Experiences

We also touched on the importance of community in the digital and agency space. Marcus and Paul discussed how initiatives like the Agency Academy have been invaluable, not just for sharing knowledge but also for feeling part of a supportive network. Being able to share frustrations, learnings, and successes helps combat the isolation that can come with freelancing or running a small agency.

Rory Sutherland: The Power of Creativity and Psychology

We also introduced Rory Sutherland, Vice Chair of Ogilvy, and discussed some of his fascinating ideas about creativity and human behavior. Rory challenges conventional thinking by emphasizing the importance of psychological insights in problem-solving and marketing. One of his key points is that the opposite of a good idea isn't necessarily a bad idea—it could be another good idea.

Rory's perspective on advertising and user experience highlights the value of making creative, sometimes non-obvious decisions that resonate on a deeper psychological level. For example, he argues that creating an enjoyable experience can be more impactful than simply making a service faster or cheaper. He also points out that sometimes the best way to chane behavior isn't through logical arguments but by tapping into human emotions and habits.

His unique take on solving problems with creativity instead of just relying on data challenges us to think beyond A/B testing and analytics. Rory's approach inspires us to consider how we can incorporate more creative, psychological-driven ideas into our UX and content strategies to create more engaging and memorable experiences for users.

Wrapping Up

That’s a wrap for this episode! If you want to transform how you approach web content and streamline your copywriting process with AI, or if you're seeking inspiration for balancing work and personal adventures, this one’s for you.

We love hearing from you! Send us your thoughts and questions at paul@boagworld.com or marcus@headscape.co.uk.

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