What if I told you that you could produce high-quality blog content in just about an hour? Yes, it's entirely possible, and no, quality does not have to suffer. I am Gary Sheng, and I am going to walk you through my efficient, AI-assisted workflow that enables me to churn out impactful and aesthetically pleasing blogs within a tight timeframe.
Step 1: Cultivating Ambitious Thoughts
My workflow's effectiveness begins far from the computer screen. It starts with the cultivation of ambitious goals and thoughts. My personal goal, for instance, is to create a world where everyone has the opportunity to flourish. This desire prompts me to ask a lot of questions, considering the necessary mindset, behaviors, rituals, and more that would need to exist to achieve this future.
These ponderings form the foundation of the content I create, helping me develop my own philosophical framework. It isn't about starting from scratch every time; instead, I allow these deep thoughts to organically inspire the themes and messages of my posts.
Step 2: Dictation with Descript
Once I've cultivated my thoughts, the next step involves verbalizing these ideas. For this, I use an app called Descript. Descript's strength lies in its capability to transcribe speech with high fidelity, enabling me to get my thoughts into a text format efficiently.
This practice also has an added benefit: it has significantly improved my ability to speak clearly. If Descript's advanced AI can understand my dictation, it means that my message will likely be clear to human readers as well.
Step 3: Structuring Content with ChatGPT
With my thoughts transcribed, I then transfer the text into ChatGPT, a highly advanced language model developed by OpenAI. I treat the AI as a collaborator, providing it with a directive similar to what I would give a friend asked to edit or write a blog post. This approach helps refine my ideas into a more grammatically correct and structured form that is more suitable for a blog post.
Step 4: Fine-Tuning with a Human Touch
AI is an excellent tool, but it doesn't have the final say. I review what ChatGPT produces and make necessary adjustments to ensure that the final piece accurately reflects my original intent. While the AI typically provides a great starting point, this step is crucial to maintain the human element and personal voice in my posts.
Step 5: Enhancing with Visuals
A blog post is not only about the words; visual elements also play a significant role. To add a dash of creativity and bring my ideas to life visually, I use Midjourney, an AI-based art creation platform.
Midjourney is not your average image generator; it allows me to insert keywords that capture the essence of the content, and it crafts an image that beautifully matches these themes. Words like "magical," "lush," "waves," etc., can amalgamate into a single evocative image.
I then strategically place these images throughout the blog post, creating an engaging visual experience for the reader.
Step 6: Sharing and Promotion
Once I'm satisfied with the post's content and layout, I publish it on Substack (or I publish it on my wiki here—see Why You Should Create a Personal Wiki). But creating great content is only half the battle; sharing and promoting the blog is an equally important step.
To engage my audience, I typically share an excerpt of the blog post on Twitter and LinkedIn along with an attractive image. I encourage my audience to engage by replying and retweeting. The title of the blog post is capitalized for emphasis and sometimes, I sprinkle in some emojis to add a playful touch.
CONCLUSION: Tap into the Power of AI to Efficiently Express Yourself
In conclusion, this workflow leverages the power of AI to streamline the process, reduce the time taken, and improve the quality of the content produced. From the inception of an idea to its promotion, AI-assisted tools have become invaluable in my blogging journey, and I hope sharing my process will inspire others to explore these tools in their own creative process. Let me know if you have any questions, and thank you for the prompting.
Further reading: How to Write and Publish More Regularly: A Quick Guide