Early last week I got a call from someone I didn’t know. No robo call this! The woman might, she thought, be looking for a ghostwriter. As usual I asked how she had found me.

Usually the answer is sort of vague, ‘oh, I found you on the internet.’  This time I was totally gobdmacked!

“Oh, I just asked AI,” she said as if it were nothing. I was shocked and asked her more about it. Sure enough she’d asked asked GPT 4 for a ghostwriter in San Diego. I popped up!

I wish I could tell you how that actually happened. I can only tell you I’m well represented on the ‘net and I’m pretty good about using key words and phrases, which are simply SEO (search engine optimization terms.)

After I quit bragging to everyone I know I started thinking about how creatives who don’t like to write can really take advantage of the ‘net for marketing.

Hire a writer but…

Obviously you can hire a writer to tell your story. If not me, try Fivver. (Affiliate link) I recently had good luck with a programmer who was able to put a CRM together for me on Hubspot.

If you do hire a writer be sure you communicate to them not only what you think you want but also what you hope to achieve with it. For example, suppose you want to hire a writer to create 12 stories about your pottery. Your goal is to create a website or even a blog to market yourself and your pots.

One of a freelance writer’s biggest frustration is how often potential clients don’t know what they want nor what they want to accomplish. Be prepared to have some idea and discuss it with any writer you talk with. The clearer you are the better they’ll be able to fulfill your needs.

Of course you need the website to show case you skills, the pots you have for sale and some ideas of how long each article should be (500-1,000 words), the pictures of one, two or three pots you want to sell (yes, you can take them yourself if you can do it well).

Another way to say all this is who is your market. And if you  don’t yet know that, don’t hire a writer yet.

You’ll also need to know if  the writer can upload the articles you’ve approved or if you want to do it. The writer should be able to add SEO, but ask and see if they need to know more to choose the best ones for your business.

Make good use of your trade magazines and websites

There are trade magazines and websites for every kind of creative activity you can think of. You may know of a few, and there are plenty more. I’d start with Google to find the most useful sites and magazines. Some will be about becoming a true expert, others will be about marketing.

Heck, ask AI! Google up CHAT GPT 4 or ask for ree AI and give it a try. An AI prompt that might be helpful would be something like I am a builder of Craftsman houses. Build me a marketing plan. Or what are the best search terms for me?

Let us know what happened, and even write an article for me about what you learned. Five-hundred words or so, no deadline, no pay, but links to you, or other promo.

Write, create often and well,

 

 

Image, which is AI generated, by Susan Cipriano from Pixabay