Today may be April Fool’s Day… but this conversation is very real 😀

Recently I had the chance to join Jeff Spinella from Darwin | Web, Data and AI Engineering on the What Keeps Marketers Up at Night podcast, and the episode was released today! 🎙️

Fitting for the name of the podcast, we spent a lot of time talking about what’s changing in marketing right now, and why it’s starting to feel more complex.

As we got into it, I realized how much this reflects what I’ve been seeing both in my work in healthcare technology and in the classroom.

My students pick up on things quickly. When something sounds generic or a little too automated, they notice. And more importantly, they start to question the brand behind it.

That part always makes me pause.

Because I use AI too. Every day. It helps me think faster, organize ideas, and move work forward.

But at the same time, it feels like the expectations for what “good” looks like are getting higher, not lower.

That tension came up throughout the conversation.

We talked about zero-click search, how buyers are doing more research in tools like ChatGPT and Claude, what marketing looks like in regulated healthcare environments, and how I think about ABM and sales alignment in that context.

But the thread running through all of it was something simpler:

AI can support the work.
It can’t replace the thinking behind it.

And it definitely can’t replace a real, consistent brand voice.

Marketing still takes intention. And a bit of care.

I’m really grateful to Jeff for inviting me to be a guest and for such a thoughtful conversation!

Tools mentioned in this episode:
HubSpot Breeze, Jasper, AdRoll, Claude, ChatGPT

#B2BMarketing #HealthcareMarketing #DemandGeneration #AIinMarketing #BrandVoice #MarketingStrategy #WhatKeepsMarketersUpatNight

https://lnkd.in/gRxpM5TD

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝗜 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗔𝗜 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗼𝘂𝗰𝗵?

This was one of the questions for today’s Founder Coffee: AI x Growth.

Let’s start here:

AI doesn't sound robotic because it is AI.
It sounds robotic because it lacks human direction.

AI-generated content can be spotted quickly.
Most often, it comes down to two key reasons: not having a strong sense of what good writing sounds like and not being clear on your own voice.

Three things you can do today:

𝟭. 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗶𝘁
If you want AI to sound human, start with your own tone of voice.
How do you actually sound with clients, partners, or your community?
Clear? Warm? Direct? Strategic? Thoughtful?
AI can't reflect a voice you haven't defined.

𝟮. 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝘁 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀
In addition to sharing strong examples, explain exactly what you want, step by step.
You’d be surprised how often AI misses the mark not because it's incapable, but because the direction wasn't specific enough.
Just like with people, the quality of the result depends on how well you communicate.

𝟯. 𝗞𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗷𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗽
AI can produce a strong draft.
But you are the one who decides what should go out and what's missing.
That's one of the reasons why, in AIMAR, we keep a human layer for approval and process management.

So maybe the better question is not how to use AI without losing the human touch, but how to lead AI to amplify it.

3 ways I use AI to create LinkedIn content that actually gets clients.

Most people are using AI to write posts.

I use it to build strategy, clarity, and conversion.

That’s the difference.

Because AI content alone doesn’t get clients.

Positioned content does.

Here are 3 ways I actually use AI (and how you can too):

1️⃣ I don’t ask AI to write. I make it THINK first.

Most people open ChatGPT and say:

“Write a LinkedIn post about personal branding.”

That’s why everything sounds the same.

Instead, I do this:

👉 I give AI raw thinking first

Example prompt:

“Here is my idea:
Many founders post consistently but don’t get clients because their positioning is unclear.

Break this into:
• the real problem
• why it happens
• what most people do wrong
• a stronger perspective”

Now AI is not guessing.

It’s structuring your thinking.

Then I write the post using that clarity.

Result:
Content sounds like me.
But sharper.
More strategic.

2️⃣ I train AI on my voice (and my audience)

Generic AI = generic content.

So I give AI context before asking anything.

👉 I paste:

• 2–3 of my best-performing posts
• My audience (coaches, founders, SaaS)
• My tone (direct, warm, slightly contrarian)

Example:

“This is how I write. Clear, slightly bold, not robotic.
My audience struggles with leads, positioning, and content clarity.
Now refine this draft.”

Now AI is not writing randomly.

It’s writing within my identity.

Result:
Content feels human.
Relevant.
And attracts the right people.

3️⃣ I use AI to turn one idea into a system (not just one post)

Most people use AI for one post.

I use it to build content assets.

Example:

After writing one post, I prompt:

“Turn this into:
• 3 new hooks with different angles
• 2 carousel ideas
• 1 client-focused post
• 1 contrarian take”

Now one idea becomes:

→ 5–7 pieces of content
→ Multiple angles
→ More reach + more depth

Result:
Consistency without burnout.
And messaging that compounds.

Here’s the real truth:

AI is not your writer.

AI is your thinking partner.

If your thinking is weak → AI content will be weak.
If your positioning is clear → AI becomes powerful.

If your content is getting:

• likes but no leads
• impressions but no inquiries
• consistency but no growth

It’s not an AI problem.

It’s a strategy problem.

If you’re a coach or founder and want to:

→ build authority
→ create content that converts
→ use AI without sounding generic

DM me AI

Let’s build a system that actually brings clients.

I’ve been experimenting with different AI tools for writing and content creation this year.

They definitely help produce content faster, but I’m noticing a big problem — the brand voice becomes inconsistent across platforms like blogs, emails, and social posts.

Sometimes the tone changes a lot depending on the prompts or the tool used.

I’m curious how others deal with this.

Do you have a workflow, prompt structure, or system that helps keep everything consistent?

My CMO gave me three weeks to fix a campaign that had a 0.8% click-through rate.

I didn’t hire a consultant. I didn’t run another A/B test. I opened Claude.ai and treated it like the most senior marketing strategist I’d ever worked with.

The campaign hit 4.3% CTR. We added 2,100 leads in 18 days.

This is not a “AI is amazing, go use it” article. This is the actual playbook — the prompts, the frameworks, the mistakes, and the surprising moments when Claude did things no human marketer had thought to suggest.

✅ How I use AI for marketing:

1. Build dedicated AI projects per marketing function
2. Train each project on your actual data and brand voice
3. Use AI for research and analysis before creation
4. Generate content at scale with programmatic templates
5. Come up with creative, scalable digital PR ideas
6. Fact-check my own bullshit when I'm not at 100% capacity

...

I use AI for about 70% of my LinkedIn content.

(and people still say it sounds like me)

Here's the thing most people get wrong:

They prompt ChatGPT with a topic.
Get a draft back.
Hit post.

Then wonder why it sounds like everyone else.

AI can write the whole post.
That's not the problem.

The problem is does the AI know you?

Here's the 3-part filter that makes AI content sound human:

𝟭) 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸
↳ Real numbers. Real screenshots. Real outcomes.
↳ If you haven't lived it, don't post it.

𝟮) 𝗘𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
↳ What did you feel when it happened?
↳ Frustration? Relief? Surprise?
↳ That's what makes it human.

𝟯) 𝗣𝗢𝗩
↳ What's your take that others might disagree with?
↳ A clear opinion beats a safe summary every time.

AI can give you structure.
AI can give you speed.

Stanley is my secret weapon. He gets to know me and understands my lived experience. He understands how I feel about things, and he can weave in the human side to my posts.

P.S. What's your biggest struggle with AI content - sounding human or finding ideas?

I’ve been running a B2B SaaS company and content marketing is my biggest inbound channel—but it used to take a lot of time. I tried generic ChatGPT prompts, Jasper/Copy.ai templates, and even a freelancer + AI, but everything sounded bland and “AI-written.” What finally worked was building a “voice profile” from 15–20 real writing samples (emails, Slack messages, podcast transcripts, past LinkedIn posts) and using that as context so AI could draft content in my actual voice. My workflow now is: record short voice notes → AI drafts 3–5 posts per note → I quickly review/edit/reject → schedule posts and respond to comments. This increased my posting volume from 2–3/month to 15–20/month while cutting time spent from ~8–10 hours/month to ~2–3 hours/month, and improved average impressions and inbound DMs.