How Not To Get Paid Like a 'Bot

It's simpler than ever

You could use artificial intelligence to produce fake content about non-moments nobody experienced: Or, you can deliver the awesomeness people want. Because people buy YOU!

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Always Inspiring is written by a real human every week. And trust me, he’s genuinely grateful you’re a reader, supporter and subscriber. ❤️

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Note to Self: People Want You

Recently my phone rang. “So, what’s your take on AI and chat-bots?” asked a journalist.

“That’s like asking me what’s my take on a pencil,” I replied.

“Oh, c’mon, it’s more than that,” they said. “These things write newsletters, generate ads and write social media posts. It’s going to change the business.”

“Certainly. Almost like printing labels did for handwritten envelopes years ago,” I laughed.

“But it writes marketing all by itself. That’s different.”

“I suppose. But only if it’s prompted to write good content. We’ve been pumping out content for years. I’m not sure asking a ‘bot to tell people to adjust their clocks in the Spring will make a big difference.”

“You can’t tell the difference,” the journalist said defensively.

“When it comes to making a sale, I think I can,” I said. “Let me explain.”

When More Content Doesn’t Matter. Shanghai © Matthew Ferrara

Real Results Require Real People

Let’s consider any activity that involves strong human engagement, like writing books, financial planning, winning a lawsuit. Or more close to home, selling a house:

We were told the internet would generate more leads. And it did. Real estate agents went bonkers buying and reacting to online leads. Yet the number of closed sales over the last twenty years remained about the same, around 5 million a year. (Take out the boom of ‘21-22, because the Federal Reserve, not Zillow leads, caused that.)

We were told social media would create dozens of ways to stay connected. And it did. So we posted market stats, inventory, articles and ‘toks everywhere, and still, the number of sales remained about the same.

We could say this about a lot of things - mobile apps, QR codes, reels, texting and iBuying-algorithms were all supposed to change everything and yet —

The real results remained about the same

“That’s because, at some point, someone has to show up and get the job done,” I said to the reporter.

“Someone who stops talking to a computer and starts talking to people. Asking questions. Listening to answers. Delivering solutions. Plus handshakes, smiles and hugs. In person, not in the comments section.”

Using the one thing an algorithm will never have:

Real Experiences

The question isn’t whether ‘bots can write content. But if you’re a real estate agent who sells three homes a year, is writing a handful of ads your real growth bottleneck?

If you’re a Substack author with 100 subscribers and you want 200, will generating more content that’s easily seen as not yours inspire readers to stick around and pay for more?

If you’re a speaker who delivers one speech a few times a year, will having a ‘bot to write ten new speeches fill your calendar?

“Real results isn’t about stuff,” I said to the reporter. “It’s doing things with people that make a difference.

And you can’t do that while goading an algorithm into writing Shakespeare-meets-Ogilvy property descriptions.

AI Does Some Neat Things

“To be fair,” I said, “if I were a marketing director writing copy for look-alike tract homes, I’d be desperate for a chatbot. If I were a media manager for multiple social accounts selling a commodity, I’d be thrilled for ideas when my mind runs blank after the tenth iteration of the same theme. They have big problems that aren’t holding back most people’s growth.”

“So you’re saying ordinary professionals don’t need AI?” the journalist asked.

“No,” I replied.

“I’m saying that ordinary professionals don’t want to be ordinary. They want to create results by becoming extraordinary.”

And artificial intelligence won’t solve that problem.

Nothing Out-Sells You

Last week I received an email that was so bad, it said: “We’ll build you a fully managed personal brand on YouTube that attracts high-quality leads on autopilot.”

Then I saw a headline that said: “Later this year, your AI will be able to attend meetings for you.”

These things will never produce results.

You can’t have a brand if you don’t show up and participate in it.
You can’t have a successful meeting if you weren’t there to be part of it.

Chatbots can do many jobs, mostly ones nobody wants nor gets paid well to do. Answering cable bills and travel questions isn’t a career dream for ambitious talent. But it’s perfect for a machine. Every mass-production tool in history has disrupted these kinds of jobs and thankfully so.

Leaving the creative, well-paying and desirable opportunities for real people to show up and produce really important results.

What do people really want?

Not the quantity of content but the quality of your performance:

Your ability to develop relationships with people who will refer you to others.
Your ability to generate moments that feel like you’re right there in the writing, video or social media format.
Your ability to inspire with stories and examples from your experience.
Your ability to communicate with voice tone, body language, eye contact, facial expressions - turning a stranger into a new friend.

That’s What Drives Success Today and Tomorrow

Because that’s what people want.
There’s no reason to believe they won’t want it in the future, either.

A new prospect will always be afraid of making a mistake with their purchase.
A new reader will worry about buying an upgraded subscription.
A referred friend of a friend will still ask themselves:
“Have I made the right choice?”

Besides: There’s Only One YOU they can buy

Nobody hugs a vending machine or an algorithm -

When it really matters.