If you have tried using AI tools like ChatGPT or Claude to write a blog post or a social media caption, you have probably experienced the “AI Voice.”
It is that overly enthusiastic, slightly robotic tone that uses words like “delve,” “unleash,” and “transformative” in every other sentence. It sounds professional, but it does not sound like you. And more importantly, it does not connect with your customers.
Many small business owners try AI once, get a robotic result, and decide it is not for them. But the problem is not the AI; the problem is how we ask it to write. Here is a practical guide to using AI to write marketing content that actually sounds human, authentic, and engaging.
The Golden Rule: AI is an Assistant, Not an Author
The biggest mistake you can make is treating AI like a vending machine: you put a topic in, and a finished article comes out.
Instead, treat AI like a highly capable but very junior marketing assistant. If you told a junior assistant, “Write a blog post about plumbing,” they would write something generic and boring. But if you gave them an outline, explained your target audience, and gave them examples of your previous work, they would do a much better job.
You need to do the same with AI. This is called “Prompt Engineering.”
3 Steps to Better AI Prompts
To get good content out of AI, your prompt (the instruction you type in) needs three specific elements:
1. Give it a Role
Tell the AI exactly who it is supposed to be. This completely changes the tone of the output.
•Bad: “Write an email about our new summer menu.”
•Good: “Act as an experienced, friendly copywriter for a local independent cafe in the UK. Write an email…”
2. Define the Audience
The AI needs to know who it is talking to so it can adjust its language.
•Bad: “…about our new summer menu.”
•Good: “…about our new summer menu. The audience is our loyal email subscribers, mostly local office workers who come in for lunch.”
3. Provide the “Meat”
AI does not know your business. You have to give it the specific facts, or it will just make things up (or write generic fluff).
•Bad: “…Make it sound exciting.”
•Good: “…Include these specific details: We are launching three new iced lattes (Caramel, Vanilla, and Hazelnut). They cost £3.50 each. If they show this email, they get a free pastry with any iced latte this week.”
The “Train Your Voice” Technique
If you want the AI to truly sound like you, you have to teach it your voice.
Before you ask it to write anything new, try this prompt:
“I am going to paste three emails I have written in the past. I want you to analyse my tone of voice, sentence structure, and vocabulary. Do not write anything yet, just tell me when you have analysed them.”
Paste your previous emails. Once the AI says it understands, give it your writing task and add: “Write this using the exact tone of voice you just analysed.” The results will be dramatically better.
What to Use AI For (And What to Avoid)
DO use AI for:
•Brainstorming: “Give me 10 ideas for a blog post about winter car maintenance.”
•Outlining: “Create a structure for a 5-minute video about how to choose a mortgage.”
•Repurposing: “Take this blog post I wrote and turn it into three short Facebook posts.”
•First Drafts: Getting words on the page to overcome writer’s block.
DO NOT use AI for:
•Final Drafts: Never copy and paste AI content directly. Always read it, edit it, and inject your own personality and local knowledge.
•Factual Research: AI can sometimes confidently state things that are completely untrue (known as “hallucinations”). Always fact-check any statistics or claims it generates.
AI is a powerful tool that can save you hours of staring at a blank screen. By learning how to prompt it correctly and treating it as a collaborative assistant rather than a replacement for your own voice, you can create better marketing content in half the time.
About Dead On Digital
Dead On Digital supports UK small businesses with practical websites, digital marketing and smart automation that help improve and strengthen their online presence. Everything we do is focused on keeping things clear, simple and aligned with how real businesses actually operate day to day.
We believe your website and online presence should keep working for you as your business grows, not be built once and forgotten. If you are reviewing where you are now or thinking about ways to improve things online, we are always happy to offer friendly, honest advice.