How to Use AI to Assist You In Writing a Blog Post

Before You Start: Set Up Your Claude Project

For every client you work with, create a dedicated Claude Project. This is the equivalent of a custom GPT in ChatGPT — it holds all the context Claude needs to write in your client's voice consistently, so you're not re-explaining everything every single time.

Here's what to add to your project:

→ Brand voice guide — your client's tone, personality, words they use, words they avoid → Style guide — grammar preferences, formatting rules, punctuation style → Examples of past work — blog posts, emails, or copy that represents the brand well → Brief templates — any templates you use regularly for that client → Your working preferences — this one is important. Tell Claude how you like to work together. I always include something like:

"You are my assistant and I am the lead on this project. Do not get ahead of me, do not take over, and do not do anything without being asked. Work with me step by step and wait for my direction before moving on."

→ A list of things you don't want Claude to do — overusing certain words, writing symmetrical sentences, starting paragraphs with "In today's digital age," etc. There's a full list of AI writing habits to avoid in the FRL — [link to that lesson here].

The more you give your project upfront, the less you have to correct later. Think of it like onboarding a new hire: the better your onboarding, the less hand-holding you have to do down the road.

Step 1: Brief Your Claude Project

Open your client's project and start a new chat. Give Claude the brief you received from your client — or ask it to create one for you based on a keyword or topic, using your brief template and everything it already knows about the brand from the project.

Then ask Claude to confirm it understands the brief and the audience before you move on. Don't skip this. It only takes 30 seconds and saves you a lot of cleanup later.

Step 2: Build the Outline

Ask Claude to create an outline for the blog. Include:

→ The target keyword → Word count (if there's a limit) → Any specific sections the client requested → Search intent — why is someone reading this, and what do they want to walk away knowing?

Read through the outline before you move on. If something feels off — wrong angle, wrong audience, missing sections — ask Claude to revise it with specific notes on what to fix. Don't just accept the first draft of an outline.

Step 3: Write Section by Section

Do not ask Claude to write the whole blog at once. It will be terrible. No matter how well you briefed it.

Go section by section, starting with the body of the article — not the intro or outro. Just get a rough draft of the meat together and compile it in a Google Doc or Notion page as you go. Don't edit heavily yet unless something is really bad — just build the draft first.

Step 4: Compile and Edit for Flow

Once you have a full rough draft of the body, paste all the sections back into Claude at once and ask it to:

"Edit this for flow. Smooth out anything repetitive, remove 90% of the symmetrical sentences and replace them with something more natural, and make sure it's consistent with the brand voice."

Step 5: Evaluate for the Audience

Now ask Claude to read what it just wrote through the lens of the reader. Remind it:

→ Who is reading this and why → What you want them to get from it → What challenges or questions they're likely coming in with → The search intent behind the keyword

If you're not sure how to answer some of these, ask Claude: "Why would someone be searching for this?" or "What would [audience] be struggling with when it comes to [topic]?" — it'll help you think through it together.

What you have now is the meat of your rough draft.

Step 6: Write the Intro and Outro

Now write the intro and outro — either yourself or ask Claude to write them. I usually use a copywriting formula to make these more compelling. A few options:

→ BAB — Before, After, Bridge → PAPA — Problem, Agitate, Provide, Action → FAB — Features, Advantages, Benefits → 4Cs — Clear, Concise, Compelling, Credible → TAS — Thesis, Antithesis, Synthesis

Always include a CTA in the conclusion.

Step 7: Edit

Now it's your turn. Here's what to run through:

→ Read each section for brand voice, clarity, and readability → Add images (if needed) and alt text with your keyword → Check all links — Claude can and will hallucinate URLs, so verify every single one → Edit for grammar, spelling, and punctuation → Add or cut sentences that don't feel right → Review all headings — Claude isn't great at headlines when it's writing them alongside paragraphs; rewrite them yourself or ask Claude to write headline options separately

Tips

⚡️ If you don't like something Claude did, tell it exactly what's wrong and why. It aims to please and will try again — and the more specific you are, the better the result.

⚡️ More context = better output. Always. Don't shortchange the brief.

⚡️ You're the lead. Claude is your assistant. Keep it that way and you'll get way better work out of it.

⚡️ It’s called a chatbot for a reason! Chat with it. Talk it like it’s a conversation. You don’t need to be formal, you don't need to worry that much about typos, you don't need to word something perfectly. The best thing you can do is speak to it naturally and give it as much information as you possibly can.

With a solid project setup and this workflow, most blog posts should take you around 2 hours — and they won't read like a robot wrote them, because you didn't let one.

Before You Start: Set Up a Custom GPT for Your Client

For every client you work with, create a dedicated Custom GPT. You can find this under "Explore GPTs" → "Create" in ChatGPT. This is where you store all the context ChatGPT needs to write consistently in your client's voice.

Here's what to add:

→ Brand voice guide — tone, personality, words they use and avoid → Style guide — grammar preferences, formatting rules, punctuation → Examples of past work — blogs, emails, or copy that represents the brand well → Brief templates — anything you use regularly for that client → Your working preferences — tell it how you like to collaborate:

"You are my assistant and I am the lead. Do not get ahead of me, do not take over, and do not do anything without being asked. Work with me step by step."

→ A list of writing habits you don't want it to use — symmetrical sentences, generic openers, overused words, etc. There's a full list in the FRL — [link to that lesson here].

The more you load into the Custom GPT upfront, the less correcting you have to do later.

Step 1: Brief Your Custom GPT

Open your client's Custom GPT and start a new chat. Paste in the brief from your client — or ask ChatGPT to generate one using your brief template and the brand context it already has. Here's a brief template you can use →

Ask it to confirm it understands the brief and the audience before moving on.

Step 2: Build the Outline

Ask ChatGPT to create an outline for the blog. Give it:

→ The target keyword → Word count (if applicable) → Any specific sections the client asked for → Search intent — why is someone reading this and what do they need?

Read through the outline and revise before moving forward. If the angle feels off, ask it to rewrite with notes on what to fix.

Step 3: Write Section by Section

Do not ask ChatGPT to write the whole blog at once. It will be bad no matter how good the brief was.

Go section by section, starting with the body of the article. Compile each section in a Google Doc or Notion page as you go. Don't over-edit yet — just get the rough draft built first.

Step 4: Compile and Edit for Flow

Paste all your body sections back into ChatGPT at once and ask it to:

"Edit this for flow. Smooth out repetitive sections, remove 90% of symmetrical sentences and replace them with something more natural, and evaluate for brand voice."

Step 5: Evaluate for the Audience

Ask ChatGPT to re-read the draft through the reader's eyes. Remind it:

→ Who is reading this and why → What you want them to take away → What challenges they're likely bringing to the article → The search intent behind the keyword

If you're not sure, ask it: "Why would someone be searching for this?" or "What would [audience] be struggling with around [topic]?"

What you have now is the meat of your rough draft.

Step 6: Write the Intro and Outro

Write the intro and outro yourself or ask ChatGPT to write them using a copywriting formula:

→ BAB — Before, After, Bridge → PAPA — Problem, Agitate, Provide, Action → FAB — Features, Advantages, Benefits → 4Cs — Clear, Concise, Compelling, Credible → TAS — Thesis, Antithesis, Synthesis

Always end with a CTA.

Step 7: Edit

Now it's your turn:

→ Read each section for brand voice, clarity, and readability → Add images (if needed) and alt text with your keyword → Check every single link — ChatGPT is notorious for hallucinating URLs → Edit for grammar, spelling, and punctuation → Add or cut sentences that don't feel right → Rewrite headings — ask ChatGPT to generate headline options separately rather than writing them alongside paragraphs

Tips

⚡️ If you don't like something, tell it exactly what's wrong and why. It will try again — and specificity helps enormously.

⚡️ More context always = better output. Never shortchange the brief.

⚡️ You're the lead. ChatGPT is your assistant. Keep that dynamic and the work will be way better.

A solid Custom GPT setup plus this workflow should get most blog posts done in around 2 hours — and they won't sound AI-generated if you do your edits properly.