What happens when a professional writer who finds AI-generated content "quite horrific" decides to build an AI writing platform to help people show up more authentically on LinkedIn? With AI as his development team?

Nigel Jay Cooper found himself in exactly that position. He'd spent a decade training professionals and teams in employee advocacy to create authentic LinkedIn content and was determined to fight the flood of ‘beige’ content generated by ChatGPT et al - thoughtless, generic posts lacking personality and spark.

His first instinct was to fight against AI. But when everyone kept using it anyway, he realised he was fighting the wrong battle. The question wasn't whether people would use AI. The question was: can they use it in a way that reflects their personality, experience and humanity? So he set out to build Ghostart, even though he's not a software developer.

Listen to this episode of Curious Business as Nigel shares how he built Ghostart over the past year, and discusses:

The beige content crisis: Why AI-generated LinkedIn posts are "soul destroying" and how people remove themselves from their own voice
Building with AI: Using different models for different purposes, learning through trial and error, and managing the "700,000 suggestions you didn't want" that the LLMs tend to spit out
The technical journey: From two aborted platform attempts to the approach that makes AI development productive and effective
The Beige-ometer: Training an AI writing coach in rhythm, emotion, and storytelling - not optimising to LinkedIn's algorithm
Why your beta test should make you feel ashamed: The essential advice that propelled the platform forward

Chapters:

0:01:06 - The Beige Content Problem

0:04:27 - Who Ghost Art Serves

0:09:10 - Building with AI - The Vibe Coding Reality

0:11:47 - Tools and Techniques

0:17:31 - Keeping AI Focused

0:21:20 - The Hardest Parts to Build

0:27:17 - The Beta Launch

0:30:53 - What Users Actually Valued

0:35:47 - Lessons and Success

Links:

More about Ghostart and try it free: https://ghostart.io

Request a demo: https://ghostart.io/teams/demo

Connect with Nigel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nigeljaycooper/

-- Thanks for listening.

Curious Business is here to bring you insights, experiences and ideas from founders, leaders and experts to help you think differently about your business and its marketing. My name is Stephen Morris and I help start-ups and scale-ups get momentum in their marketing and pipeline. Like to know more? Book a discovery call: https://www.curiousbusiness.co.uk/discovery/ Or sign-up to 'The Prompt' my monthly newsletter: https://www.curiousbusiness.co.uk/signup/ If you'd like to talk about how podcasts can build reach, enhance authority and fuel your pipeline, visit: www.curiousbusiness.co.uk.

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Curious Business: The B2B Growth Podcast