ChatGPT is EFFING copywriters over (here’s how to stay safe)
Oooohhhhhh boy…
The question I got asked on the FIRST day inside my 8 week coaching program?
“What do you think about AI?”
Here’s my answer.
ChatGPT has turned the copywriting industry into a giant space needle…
With an infinite saucer base.
Let me explain.
There’s a sea of copywriters who cannot write better than chatGPT.
Essentially, an infinite number.
That’s the saucer base I’m talking about.
If you cannot write better than chatGPT, I am sorry…
But you’re screwed.
UNLESS - you up your game.
No, I’m not here to sell you an AI copy product.
I am here to simply share my thoughts on this hot topic with you.
I’ve done a LOT of copywriter hiring in the past 6 months…
I’m well-connected with the top business owners and top copywriters.
Here’s what I see…
ChatGPT is a better copywriter than 85% of the market currently.
- It delivers work instantly.
- It rarely makes spelling or grammatical errors.
- It doesn’t procrastinate.
- It doesn’t have perfectionism.
- It’s easy to work with (unlike some copywriters)
- It has an understanding of marketing basics
This is a problem for you if you’re in that infinite saucer pan.
Your copywriting income is a function of supply and demand.
So if you are specializing in something that there is AN INFINITE SUPPLY of…
Your income will continue to drop lower and lower as time goes on.
There’s 5 million copywriters who can write basic emails and use AI prompts.
There’s an infinite supply of “AI Copywriting.”
So soon, “AI prompt level copy” will be FREE.
Trying to fight against that is like fighting against the ebbing tide.
That’s the reality in the “infinite saucer base.”
Now let’s chat about the giant space needle.
Ironically during all this…
The top copywriters in the world are making more than ever.
And top business owners are more desperate than ever for writers who can produce converting copy.
The supply is SCARCE - very few copywriters can consistently win when it comes to successful promotions.
So by nature of supply and demand, those 1% of writers can charge premium rates.
I myself am making MORE each year by a significant margin.
I know many of the top copywriters experiencing the same phenomenon…
Hint: Virtually NONE of them are writing copy with chatGPT.
The reason is simple:
AI can’t write winning copy.
The amount of time and effort it would take me to prompt chatGPT, then take what it writes and fix it…
Is just not worth it.
It’s easier for me to just write the copy from scratch.
Most of the top copywriters I talk to - including David Deutsch, Jason Capital, Dan Ferrari, and more - agree.
All this is to say…
It comes out to a simple equation.
Can you write better than chatGPT?
If the answer is yes, you’ll be ascending the space needle and you’ll make a lot of dough.
If no, then you’re in the infinite saucer pan and on a one way ticket to struggletown USA.
So maybe the better question to ask is…
Are you willing to put in the time and effort to LEARN to write better than chatGPT?
I could get into a whole lot more about how the current state of the industry came to be…
How there was an inflated market in 2020 that raised copywriter’s incomes and confidence in themselves…
How that bubble POPPED in 2022-2023 because the economy and buying market tanked…
And how right now TRUTH is coming out in the copywriting industry.
By TRUTH, I mean it’s much harder to charlatan your way into making a ton of money if you’re not a good copywriter (harder than it was in 2020).
And it’s much more important to focus on developing your skill and mastering your craft as a copywriter.
It’s no longer a biz opp where you dip your toe in and make good c@sh…
Because you will end up in the infinite saucer base that writes for pennies.
Copywriting is now more of what I would call an apprenticeship.
It requires dedication.
Commitment.
And tenacity to NOT quit and learn the craft.
Is that scary?
Actually, I don’t believe so.
I think it just makes it clear what path you need to take to move forward in your copywriting career.
It’s not hard to outwork the masses.
You just have to stay consistent in writing and improving every day…
And not quit.
Is there a way to gain an edge on the market through all this?
This is the second question I got asked in week 1 of my coaching program.
“Is there a way to gain an edge when it comes to AI?”
Yeah.
Stay away from AI and chatGPT…
And write your own copy.
It’s the answer I would give if you came to me and asked…
“Hey Ning, I want to play in the NBA. Is there a way to gain an edge when it comes to that?”
Yeah, stay in the gym longer than other people.
Put up more practice shots than other people.
Do more dribbling drills than other people.
That’s the “hack” to gaining an edge.
And DON’T rely on a bionic AI arm to dribble and shoot the basketball for you.
This basketball analogy is pretty spot on, actually.
Let’s say the top 1% of basketball players get the biggest contracts…
While the other 99% scrap for pennies.
Do you think Steph Curry or Michael Jordan got to the top 1% by using a bionic arm to shoot the basketball for them?
Say that the bionic arm shoots the basketball and it goes in 40% of the time... which is “average.”
Say ALL basketball players had access to this bionic arm.
But the only way to shoot better than 40% is to practice with your own arm.
Do you think Steph Curry or Michael Jordan would practice with the bionic arm?
Nope.
You simply don’t develop the necessary skills if you let chatGPT write your copy for you.
You don’t develop marketing intuition.
You don’t develop editing skills.
You don’t develop anything when it comes to salesmanship or writing converting copy…
Which is the bottom line when it comes to how much you make.
I’ve written somewhere in the neighborhood of 19 winning offers in a row in the past 4 years.
PaleoHacks is booming as a result, more than tripling its bottom line.
Do you think I’d be able to do that using AI as a crutch?
Nope.
And I HOPE my competitors (the other copywriters launching promos on the same traffic network) are using AI to write their sales pages…
Because if they do, I know the copy won’t be as good, and I’ll always have an edge.
Those are my current thoughts around AI.
However, we are still early in this technology.
ChatGPT can’t write A-list copy… YET.
Who knows what will happen in the future?
That’s something that I can’t predict.
But regardless of what happens…
Hard-earned skills will always pay.
That’s why I am unafraid.
And that should also point you in the right direction, Copy Gangsta.
Acquire skills - they pay the bills.
Play the long game, not the short game.
-Ning
