Empowering Mumpreneurs: Supercharge Your Business With chatGPT
As a business owner, it’s imperative that you continue to learn and grow to supercharge your business. Using a platform such as ChatGPT can help you on this journey.
‘I’m not using AI!’ I always hear this when I’m out networking with other women in business. I get it; putting your trust in something you’ve spent years watching destroy the world is scary. Those dystopian films have a lot to answer for!
Platforms like ChatGPT, however, can provide us mumpreneurs with a range of benefits to grow our business, help us be more productive, and save us valuable time.
What is ChatGPT?
ChatGPT is a large language model designed to assist with a variety of tasks.
Microsoft-backed artificial intelligence researcher OpenAI started ChatGPT in November 2022. Since its launch, the chatbot has gone viral for its ability to process prompts and deliver human-like writing, including blogs, job applications, and content.
How does it work?
Imagine you’ve met a librarian who has read every book in the world and then shredded all those books into single words and popped them in a big bag. If you asked that librarian a question, they would collect words from their ‘bag of words’ to form a cohesive sentence that provides your answer. Simples!
ChatGPT doesn’t access the internet. Instead, it accesses a huge database which humans have created. This is where you must use your intuition when using AI platforms. Humans can be biased. The database can, therefore, be biased. If you asked about doctors and nurses, it might tell you that doctors are male and nurses are female. This is the biased opinion of whoever uploaded that information.
How can it help a mumpreneur?
There are so many areas of your business and home life that ChatGPT can help you with. Let’s explore a few options:
Effortless brainstorming and ideas - As a writing mentor, one of my clients' biggest problems is ‘blank page syndrome’. They sit down to write their book chapter, blog post, or social media content and nothing – their mind goes blank. They stare at the page, willing an idea to bubble up and then feel frustrated when nothing comes.
Chat GPT is a fabulous tool to overcome this. By adding a prompt into the Chat (either on the desktop or the app), the AI will create content you can then use as inspiration. It’s a great starting point from which you can rewrite to suit your audience and brand.
Here’s a social media prompt I love using when my brain is having one of those mornings.
‘(Describe your product/service). Create a Facebook post that focuses on storytelling to connect with users emotionally. Use a narrative highlighting the challenges and struggles of (target audience) and explain how the product/service can help solve these problems. Use emotional language and a clear call-to-action that encourages users to act.’
ChatGPT will give me its answer, and I can start to pick it apart, rewrite the content, and share it with my audience. If it gives me something I can’t use (which is rare), it will still spark another idea for me.
Prompts are key when using ChatGPT. The more you can tell it and the greater detail you can provide, the better the answer.
Asking questions and being a study buddy – Many years ago, I had a holistic health spa before I started my writing business. Before launching that business, I had to pass my Anatomy & Physiology exams and train in multiple therapies. If ChatGPT had been around back then, I could have used it as a study buddy.
Here’s a study prompt idea. Switch out the topic to suit your needs.
‘I’m studying for my (anatomy and physiology) exam. Give me 10 questions to test my knowledge.’
Content creation/planning – Mapping out your content and scheduling it saves you huge chunks of time (and sanity!). I began using ChatGPT to plan my monthly themes and content.
Try this prompt to help streamline your content creation. You’ll also get some great ideas for blog and social media posts you can write. Tweak the prompt to suit your audience and business.
‘Develop a content calendar for (specific platform) which focuses on (target audience) that includes (number) blog posts, (number) social media updates, and (number) email newsletters, focusing on (topic/industry). Put the calendar in tabular form.’
Business strategy – ChatGPT can help you write your mission statement. It can also inspire your ‘about’ pages on social media or copy for your website. Now, I will make a quick point here about the difference between using ChatGPT against hiring a professional copywriter. AI can do a lot, but a copywriter understands SEO and keywords. They are human and can write in your voice and tone without having to spend time training the platform. Humans working with AI can be powerful, but there really is no substitute for supporting independent businesses and having that human touch.
Here’s a prompt you could try if you want to update your about section on LinkedIn. Add in your role, industry, and areas you want to include.
‘Write a LinkedIn about section for a (role) in (industry), and that has the following inputs: (input) (input) (input). Write in first person, use a (tone).’
Home and leisure – ChatGPT saves you time in your business, giving you more free time for leisure activities. Use AI to help you plan trips, meal plans, learn something new, and so much more.
I have a VW campervan called Snoopy and love to travel solo across the UK. Before I set off, I’ll add a prompt into ChatGPT and use that to create a road trip where I can stop off at interesting places on the way to my end destination.
Top tips when using ChatGPT
ALWAYS check any facts or data ChatGPT provides. The database was last updated in September 2021. If you asked it who the monarch was in the UK, it still thinks it’s Queen Elizabeth II!
Don’t ask it; prompt it!
Strike a balance and maintain a human touch if using ChatGPT in content creation. AI is great at generating ideas, but the creativity and final touches need to come from you.
Stay curious. Find ways to work with it rather than against it.
Shelley Wilson is a multi-genre author and writing mentor for women in business. She is a single mum of three and lives in Solihull, West Midlands. If you want to write a non-fiction book that boosts your business and opens up an abundance of opportunities, then get in touch to find out how Shelley can help: https://shelleywilsonwritingmentor.com/
You can find all Shelley’s author, writing mentor, publisher, and campervan links here: https://linktr.ee/ShelleyWilson72