NEWSLETTER: The easiest way to use AI for your business
Spoiler alert: You should be using AI to increase your online presence.
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đ AI 101 for small business owners:
If youâre feeling overwhelmed by AI, youâre not alone.
Iâve spent the last few months learning as much as I can about AI and specifically how it can be used to benefit small business owners. Here are two of my biggest takeaways:
AI can be really helpful
AI can be really overwhelming
There are so many options for using AI but itâs hard to know where to start. So if there is one thing I think small business owners should be using AI for itâs this: increasing your online presence.
Why increase your online presence?
Because people are likely searching online for whatever type of business you have.
Because if people are looking to get more information about your business specifically, they are likely searching online to find it.
Why use AI to increase your online presence?
Because it will save you time
Because it can help with SEO (i.e. where you are showing up in search results)
Because it might suggest new ways to increase your online presence that you havenât yet considered
How to use AI to increase your online presence
Here are two easy ways to increase your online presence using AI:
CONTENT:
Use AI to either generate new content or to re-write your existing content with the ultimate goal of getting more eyes on your website.
Use AI SEO tools that can help improve where you are showing up in online searches.
If you already have a blog or content on your site, copy and paste it into AI and get suggestions for improvements that could be made to that content.
If you donât have a blog, use AI to start one.
The ultimate goal is to add content to your website that not only brings people to your website but also shows you are an expert and knowledgeable about what you do.
SOCIAL MEDIA:
Use AI to come up with a general list of ideas on what to post and get suggestions for visuals, captions and hashtags to go along with it.
Have AI come up with an entire content schedule for the year, including holidays and special occasions you could be focusing on.
Get new images and videos created for you.
Get existing images and videos edited.
AI can identify trending topics, however⌠â ď¸ WARNING: If youâre doing anything trendy, make sure itâs on brand - otherwise you might end up looking ridiculous. (Youâve likely seen some cringeworthy posts when a business or business owner tried something trendy...đŹ )
In conclusionâŚ
The best part is that when it comes to using AI in this specific way for your business, you can commit as much or as little time as you have to doing this. The majority of AI results are immediate so it wonât take long for you to get some suggestions or content. Example: Waiting at a doctorâs appointment? Ask AI for some social media content suggestions or to write a blog post for you.
And even if you donât have time to do these things, you can have someone do it for you, whether itâs assigning the task to an existing employee or contracting someone to do it.
Remember:
The more eyes on you and your business = the more likely you are to increase your revenue
đ Test Drive
Who: PromptPerfect
What: optimized prompts
I saw their Google ad when I was searching for a different type of AI program - proof that itâs highly effective to advertise in a place where people are specifically searching for info.
The ad said PromptPerfect will âelevate your prompts to perfectionâ. And as you know if you read the newsletter a few weeks ago, your prompt is extremely important to help with the quality of the results youâll get when using AI. Â
I was happy to see PromptPerfect offers a free monthly version (đ) where you get 50 credits, as well as paid plans starting at $9.99/month.
It was nice that, before you get started, they give a few different options to choose from based on your experience level.
They also let you choose which LLM (large language model) you want to use, like ChatGPT, Claude, Llama (those are the âmain playersâ I referred to in a previous newsletter - the ones who have built the generative AI foundations). Or you can choose from some of the image models if you want to generate an image instead.
It was defaulted to ChatGPT so I left it at that. They also offer some add-on options but the more of those you select, the more credits it uses up. For example, if you want it to auto-complete what you are typing, that uses 1 credit.Â
It was very user-friendly and easy to enter my prompt, and their optimized result appeared immediately. And youâll see that for my prompt, I chose something generic that would hopefully produce results that can benefit any of you small business owners reading this newsletter đ
I was happy to see it provided two optimized prompts and I wanted to test the results against my original prompt. Since it specifically said the prompt was optimized for ChatGPT, I put it to the test there. Here are the prompts and a screenshot of the results:
My original prompt:
write a list of ways a small business can use AI to increase revenue
Optimized prompt #1:
Please compile a list of various ways that a small business can utilize artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance their revenue. Your list should include specific strategies or applications of AI that can help the business improve their revenue generation. Each item on the list should be described in detail, explaining how AI can be implemented and the potential benefits it can bring to the business. Please ensure that your list encompasses a range of AI applications that are relevant and practical for small businesses.
Optimized prompt #2:
Hello AI Assistant, I need your help in creating a comprehensive list of ways that a small business can utilize AI to boost their revenue. Please provide detailed and practical suggestions on how AI can be implemented in various aspects of a business, such as marketing, customer service, operations, and sales. Make sure to include specific examples and steps that the business can take to implement these AI solutions effectively. Your guidance will be greatly appreciated!
Thoughts: It was helpful that the optimized prompts included additional instructions, like listing the benefits of each suggestion. I was happiest with the results from optimized prompt #2 because it included how to implement these suggestions.
However, I was surprised to see that ChatGPT actually recommended specific companies to use. I think this could be helpful however it could also lead you astray, knowing that the data ChatGPT is trained on only goes to September 2021. So itâs going to recommend companies that were good to use at that time and not necessarily the best current options. Thatâs further proof of why AI still needs human oversight - itâs important that you do your due diligence to find the best solutions for you and your specific situation.
Verdict: Overall I was happy with PromptPerfect and will likely use it again.
đď¸ Headlines
Here are some articles you might find interesting:
Is ChatGPT a Better Entrepreneur Than Most? - Knowledge at Wharton
The impact of artificial intelligence on small business accounting â LJ Suzuki | CFOshare - Americaâs Small Business Network
⊠In next weekâs newsletter:
AI 101: Finding AI solutions that are right for you and your business
Test drive: using Bing to analyze online reviews
đ Who am I and why am I writing this newsletter?
My name is Melissa Hopper and Iâm a small business consultant and entrepreneur. Iâm not an AI expert but rather an AI enthusiast who became curious about how AI could help me in my business and help my clients in their businesses.
I decided to start this newsletter to share what Iâm learning and what my clients are learning about how AI can help small businesses. To learn more about what I do, click here.
đ Thank you
Thank you for reading this newsletter. Please keep in mind that the views expressed in this newsletter are our own.
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â ď¸ Please be aware that AI service providers continuously update their programs and services. As a result, some of the information discussed in this newsletter may have changed by the time you read it.
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