Build Your AI Content Strategy
Faster AI outputs does not equate to better business strategy
Stop me if you’ve heard an AI consultant use this phrase. AI can save you 20-plus hours a week. Let me show you how. It’s a big promise for sure, and who wouldn’t want to gain all that extra time to take the kids to Disneyland?
But leaders falling for empty (and often unsubstantiated) promises of rapid deployment and time saved, are also the people who become the most frustrated by AI outputs.
Because telling AI to write an insta-blog about marketing is not the same as feeding it your AI creative brief, your values, and your unique thinking. And without using better thinking to feed the machine, your content becomes JAPOW! (Just Another Piece of Workslop).
The good news? Getting your thinking straight changes everything. AI stops being a content machine and starts being a partner that amplifies what you stand for. Here’s how the leaders moving the needle are using AI to produce breakout content.
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Without using better thinking to feed the machine, your content becomes JAPOW! (Just Another Piece of Workslop).
– Monica Poling
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Start with Quality, Not Quantity
Most content strategies fail at the same place: leaders get obsessed with doing more (post 3x a week!) instead of being clear about what they stand for first.
The leaders building breakout content work backward. They use AI to develop their one big idea — the core belief that everything else connects to. Then they use AI to express that idea across different formats and channels without diluting the original vision.
Before you ask “what should I post?” ask: “what is the theme that underpins my entire work philosophy?” That clarity is what AI needs to do anything useful for you. That clarity is what AI need to differentiate your from your closest competitor.
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Before Writing, Ask AI to Listen
Feed AI your customer conversations. Your industry reports. Your market research. Your discovery call notes. (Remember to keep sensitive data anonymous). Don’t ask it to generate content ideas yet. Ask it: “What are the emerging signals? What are people worried about? Where is the conversation shifting? What are my customers’ (or potential customers’) frequently asked questions?”
This sets the initial direction for your quarterly editorial calendar — a clear spine — so you don’t have to scrambling every week wondering what you should post. Your content stops being reactive and becomes informed by what matters to the people you serve.
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Test Your Thinking, Not Just Your Headlines
Once you’ve built the spine of your editorial calendar, make sure your thinking is solid.
You’ve asked AI about the major themes, you’ve answered questions based on your institutional knowledge and intellectual property. Now let ask AI to poke holes in your own logic. Ask it to argue the opposing position. To find what you’re missing. To tell you where you’re on shaky ground.
Then go back and tighten your calendar some more. Add your voice. Client results. Push back where you know AI is wrong. Or at least wrong for your clients.
The result? Your content starts to sound like it was written by someone with some skin in the game. it’s not just a mimeograph of those who have come before you.
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Add More Perspective
This step is optional, but it pays to remember your customers are not the global field of customers. Once you you’ve define what you stand for and you understand your market needs, see if there are any additional gaps. Ask your AI tools to do a real search of forums like Reddit or Quora to see what people are saying about the topics you’ve outlined on your content calendar.
AI can further synthesize what’s being said. Find more gaps. Predict the weight or importance of these gaps for growth-focused businesses. This is where AI can really save you time — after the thinking is done. You show up with something original because you actually understand the entire landscape not just your corner.
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Compose Content in Your Voice
You’ve done the thinking. You’ve tested your big idea. You’ve researched the landscape. Now write something worth reading.
Feed your validated thinking and editorial calendar skeleton to AI. Let it write an outline that you revise, then it can draft the first version. Bonus points if you also upload a previous piece of content or highlight someone’s voice you enjoy. Once the first draft is ready, then you rewrite it. Add the stories only you know. The perspective only you have. The language that sounds like you actually believe this.
This is where a piece becomes breakout content instead of just another workslop draft. It sounds like someone with skin in the game wrote it—because someone with skin in the game did.
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Build Content Systems, Not One-Off Posts
The final piece: consistency that matters. Once you have your core idea clear, use AI to express it across multiple formats without diluting the message. One strong blog post can become 10 content pieces across platforms— a LinkedIn carousel, quote graphics, short-form content, a speaking angle.
Over time, with several core ideas under your belt, your message compounds instead of scattering. People start recognizing what you stand for, not just liking a post.
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The Bottom Line
Doesn’t sound like this strategy will save you any time at all? It probably won’t. But saving time should rarely be an AI metric. Saving time doesn’t reflect a commitment to a better product or better customer service. AI should always be about how can I do my work better not just faster. And over time, as your ideas and processes get clearer, AI can then also move things along faster.
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