How can business owners use AI in copywriting, branding, and content creation and still maintain their voice and originality?

AI is shaking things up in podcasting and content creation in ways that both fascinate and freak me out. I know many of you, small business owners and creative service providers, feel the same. That’s why I brought Erin Ollila, a strategist, copywriter, and the host of the Talk Copy to Me podcast, on the show to talk about using AI effectively, where it fits in the copywriting process, and just as importantly, where it doesn’t.

Erin walks us through how she uses AI in an iterative process to help with brand guidelines, what to do when AI “just doesn’t sound like you,” and where the real value lies for copywriters, strategists, and business owners in the era of AI.

The big takeaway: Erin shares the prompt she uses to create a consistent template to have AI help you create content from your podcast episode.

Chapter Highlights

(00:00) How do we use AI in copywriting and still sound human?

(02:25) What business owners get wrong about using AI for copywriting and content

(05:25) How to train AI to help refine your brand guidelines

(06:44) Why using AI is always an iterative process—and why that matters

(08:36) How to stand out as a copywriter or strategist in the age of AI

(12:55) Why AI will never replace the human element in creative strategy

(16:54) How Erin uses AI to audit podcast content and find gaps

(27:59) Where AI actually helps in podcast production, and where to focus your energy

(32:47) How to keep your content authentic and avoid plagiarism with AI

AI tools and applications were used to help produce this episode. Here is a list of tools and apps and some of the ways AI was used.

Riverside.fm was used to record this episode. It will be used in the making of video promo clips for the episode.

Descript was used to edit this podcast. I used their AI for filler word removal. It always needs a bit of refinement to create smooth edits. Sometimes it’s a little aggressive and choppy, but it’s a good place to start.

I used Castmagic to help write these show notes based on the episode transcript. It’s one of my favorite AI tools. Then I rewrote parts of it to sound more like me. It was pretty close on the actual timestamps of the episode.

I’m also using Castmagic to help write the full blog post for my website based on the episode transcript and using the template prompt Erin shared in the episode. I will rewrite it to sound more like me.

Grammarly was used to make my writing better.

The episode artwork was created using ChatGPT.

** These show notes contain some affiliate links for products and services used in the creation of this podcast episode. To learn more about how I use these tools and services, visit brassybroad.com or my Brassybroad Jen YouTube channel for tutorials and reviews.

About Erin Ollila

Erin Ollila is a copywriter, strategist, and host of the Talk Copy to Me podcast. Erin guides savvy businesses and service providers away from confusion and comparison and toward being heard, seen, noticed, and known — well known.

Listen to the full AI Podcast Series

Where can you use AI to streamline your podcast and content creation, without losing the secret sauce that makes you and your message stand out?

If you’re anything like me, you want deeper connections with clients, not just more “content.” But as AI shakes up our creative world, how can we work smarter with AI, while staying true to ourselves and keeping the heart and humanity in our business?

Carol Cox is a speaker, podcast host, and self-proclaimed AI evangelist. We talk specifically about where AI fits in podcasting and thought leadership for folks like us. Learn to use AI as a tool for writing proposals and podcast show notes to unlock value in your episode back-catalog. Most importantly, you’ll hear how to keep your content truly yours, not just another generic ChatGPT output.

Carol talks tools, workflows, and the voice-cloning experiments she’s using in her business today. You’ll hear what’s working, what feels weird, and where the boundaries are being tested in real time.

Chapter Highlights

(00:00) How Do You Use AI in Your Business Without Losing Your Humanity?

(04:00) Why is Carol Cox an AI evangelist?

(05:24) Where Can AI Save You Time in Speaking and Content Creation?

(06:48) How to Train AI to Write and Sound Like You

(09:15) Concerns about Sharing Your Intellectual Property with AI

(12:20) Common AI Mistakes Speakers Make—and How to Avoid Them

(13:41) What Makes a Compelling Speaker

(16:35) Using AI to Supercharge Your Podcast Workflow and Show Notes

(17:42) The Best AI Tools for Podcasters: What’s Worth Paying For

(18:43) Turning Your Podcast Library into an AI Knowledge Base (RAG)

(20:14) Would You Clone Your Voice with AI? Ethical and Practical Concerns

(23:16) Using AI for Smarter Networking and Outreach

(27:58) What to Try Next: Your AI Homework and How to Share Your Results

CONNECT WITH CAROL COX

https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/

DM me if you chat with AI Carol. I want to know what you think!

CONNECT WITH JEN

Book Your Podcast Power Hour

Website: https://brassybroad.com

YouTube: @BrassyBroadJen

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jen-edds-470351b/

Instagram: https://instagram.com/brassybroadjen

TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@brassybroadjen

What is AI really costing you when you hand over your creative control?

If you’re a solo or small business owner creating content to grow your business, you already know the pressure to keep up. Between SEO demands, audience expectations, and new AI tools promising shortcuts, it’s tempting to hand over control and “let the robot do it.”

But will your audience feel any connection to you when they finally find your content? Or will you sound like everyone else who is letting AI create their content from start to finish?

I’m joined by Emily Gertenbach, a seasoned SEO content strategist who’s been writing human-centered digital content since 2010. She’s worked with clients ranging from local agencies to internationally recognized companies, and she’s here to help us make sense of AI’s role in content creation. Emily brings receipts, nuance, and a bit of tough love as we unpack how AI can help and hurt your brand voice, your SEO, and your connection with your audience.

This isn’t a doom-and-gloom episode about robots ruining your content. It’s a human-first conversation about how to use AI responsibly while keeping your creative voice at the center.

Listen for These Episode Highlights

• What happens when a brand’s copy feels “off”

• Is your AI-written content quietly tanking your Google rankings over time?

• How can you still show up in Google’s top results without gaming the algorithm?

Chapters

(00:00) Why AI might be costing you more than it saves

(03:15) Meet Emily Gertenbach and her mission to humanize SEO

(04:07) How does generative AI like ChatGPT work?

(05:34) How machine learning is different than generative AI

(07:15) The problem with what generative AI creates

(09:00) A real-world example of AI harming brand connection

(14:48) What happens when Google evaluates AI-written content against quality metrics?

(15:24) What Google actually rewards when ranking your content

(21:18) Emily’s six human-first elements for long-term SEO success

(23:48) Emily’s AI tool recommendations

(28:56) Why you should think twice before feeding AI your blog

(32:30) How small business owners can use AI responsibly

(34:50) Where to connect with Emily and read her blog

LINKS, RESOURCES, AND TOOLS MENTIONED

https://www.egcreativecontent.com/articles/searcher-hierarchy-of-needs

https://www.egcreativecontent.com/articles/dont-use-ai-for-brand-content

https://www.clearscope.io – SEO content research and optimization tool

https://www.semrush.com – SEO and keyword research tool

https://www.notion.so/product/ai – Document organization and internal content search support

MEET EMILY GERTENBACH

Emily Gertenbach has been creating SEO content since 2010. She’s worked with a wide variety of clients from local agencies tinternationally recognizeded software companies considered to be on the leading edge of user experience and design. Emily understands that, as tempting as it is to try to please the ever-changing Google algorithm, the need for real, humanized content remains constant, which is one of the reasons I’m so excited to be chatting with her about AI and where it fits into SEO and content.

CONNECT WITH EMILY GERTENBACH

https://egcreativecontent.com – Emily's website and blog

CONNECT WITH JEN

Book Your Podcast Power Hour

Website: https://brassybroad.com

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