THE GROWTH TOOLKIT

Hey Reader,

Last week we taught AI who you are. Now let's get it writing like you!

You can spot AI writing a mile off!!! There'll be an em dash in almost every paragraph, or sentences like "it's not just a tool, it's a game-changer", or it'll talk about your industry being an "ever-evolving landscape" 😬 🤢
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If you're like me, the second you see it, you switch off and go elsewhere!

On this subject, LinkedIn recently added a button, labelled "Seems like AI slop". Posts where people have marked them as slop have received 40% fewer views.

I made a full video on this, going from a 2-minute prompt anyone can use up to the setup I use every working day:

The video is 15 minutes long, so if you're strapped for time, here are the most important parts worth jumping to:

• ​Feed it your writing (2:26)​
• ​The don'ts list (4:08)​
• ​Putting it in ChatGPT's settings (5:45)​
• ​Teach it from your edits (13:20)​

And here are all three prompts from the video so you can copy them straight away -

Prompt 1: find my patterns

Find 5 to 10 pieces of writing that are 100% you: so, old LinkedIn posts, emails, blog posts. Anything from before ChatGPT came out at the end of 2022 is perfect, because you know there's definitely no AI in it! Paste them in under this:

Save the voice profile it gives you into a note or simple text file.

Then create a starter don'ts list

Telling AI what not to do matters just as much as telling it what to do, because the tell-tale signs are the bits folk like me notice. Here's a start, but feel free to add your own:

• No em dashes or en dashes
• No "it's not X, it's Y"
• No "delve", "landscape", "elevate", "seamless", "game-changer", "unlock"
• No "Here's the thing" or "Let that sink in"
• No dramatic one-line endings

Prompt 2: rewrite it like me

Next time AI writes something for you, paste it in with this:

Here's where last week's email comes in. Paste your voice profile and don'ts into the same instructions box as before (Settings, then Personalisation in ChatGPT, or Settings, then Account in Claude), and you won't need prompt 2 at all, because every chat already knows how you write.

Prompt 3: learn from my edits

This is the one that makes it better over time. When you rewrite an AI draft before sending it, show it what you changed:

A draft of one of my LinkedIn posts said "3 years ago I made a small decision that's quietly saved me a few hundred quid since". What I posted was "3 years ago I made a decision that's saved me quid since". That edit is now a rule every AI I use follows.

All of this gets you a better first draft. It doesn't replace you, so read it, change it and put your own thinking in. That's the bit people come to you for.

Your job this week

Pick the level that suits you.

Level 1: run prompt 1 on 5 to 10 bits of your own writing and save the voice profile it gives you.

Level 2: add your don'ts and use prompt 2 to rewrite one thing AI wrote for you.

Level 3: paste your voice profile and don'ts into your instructions from last week, then use prompt 3 the next time you edit a draft.

Know someone whose emails sound like ChatGPT?

Forward them this email! If they want the next one, they can sign up free at mikemcdonnell.co.uk/newsletter.

Quick favour before you go

I want to pitch these emails at the right difficulty level for you, and one tap below in the poll tells me if I've got it right or not.

Cheers,

Mike