Issue #69

Should you use AI tools to write your brand story?

Hi Reader,

Back when I was in elementary school (there is no need to do the math), I always looked forward to English class (go figure). One of the many exercises we were given was when our teacher shared a photograph, an image, or wrote a phrase on the blackboard that we then spent the class writing a composition about. My imagination was all over the place and I wrote fantastical stories based on the information I was given.

To this day, I can study an image or read a phrase and write something framed upon what I see or read. Children are like sponges. They absorb all kinds of things and generally it sticks with them throughout their life, for good or for bad. This exercise has stuck with me to my advantage.

What I did not realize at the time was how such a practice trained our minds to think. To process. To create. To learn. And as we, as a class, shared our compositions with one another, we learned that many people could see an object, yet come away with a different point of view of what we see and how it relates to us. Or the story we desire to tell.

I appreciate we have advanced technology to aid us in our tasks. For example, I can draft this article on a computer instead of chiseling it into stone tablets.

We all use specific tools to help our productivity. But what happens when we use certain practices that cause us to avoid thinking? Or creating? Or learning?

As Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools move beyond the infancy stage and into the toddler stage, creating problems and throwing tantrums, the reliance businesses and people are placing on them is eroding trust among their consumers.

And when we are working to create trust with our audience — consumers, clients, funders — in sharing our brand story, what happens when they learn it is not our story after all?

Take the guesswork out of what to say and how to draft a unique thank you note. My e-book: "23 Ideas for Writing Dynamic Professional letters and Cards: The art of saying thank you and other correspondence" gives complete examples for writing a thank you note after a job interview, a sympathy letter to a colleague, a thank you letter to a nonprofit donor, and more. Available in my Store now. ​Download a FREE preview.​

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About the author:

Johnna Lacey is the CEO and founder of J.M. Lacey Communications, LLC, which focuses on writing and brand storytelling, training, and coaching. Built on empathy and the desire to eliminate frustration for business owners, leaders, and nonprofits, J.M. Lacey Communications seeks ways to simplify what has been unnecessarily complicated using proven systems to achieve results. She is the author of 23 Ideas for Writing Dynamic Professional Letters and Cards: The art of saying thank you and other correspondence.

She can be reached through her website: jmlacey.com or via email: jmlacey@jmlacey.com.

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Further reading: Want more writing tips related to commercial freelancing? Author Peter Bowerman has been publishing The Well-Fed E-PUB since 2002. Check it out here.

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