Planning newsletter topics with an AI tool

A topic list is the safest job to give an AI tool, as long as the facts come from you. The tool is good at volume. You're good at what's true.

Why it invents things

A writing tool works by guessing likely words. Wikipedia describes the common kind as one that learns to guess the next word.¹ Ask it for "ten newsletter ideas for my bakery" and it will happily give you ten. Some will mention a loyalty scheme, a tasting night or a famous supplier you don't have.

That's the known weakness. The same source says such chatbots can add falsehoods that sound believable.² In a topic list, the falsehood is usually a business detail the tool assumed.

So the plan is to give it real material, ask for ideas only, and read the list as suggestions rather than facts.

Start with your own list

Before you open the tool, write rough notes. Nobody else can supply these.

• Questions customers ask you often.
• Jobs that change with the seasons in your trade.
• Things that really are changing: a new product, new hours, a closure, a staff change.
• Mistakes customers often make that you could help them avoid.
• Local events that affect your trade.

Keep names, email addresses and other customer details out of the notes. There's a separate page on keeping customer details out of a prompt.

Ask in a way that limits invention

Paste in your notes and tell the tool what it may and may not do. A request along these lines works well:

Below are my notes on a small plumbing business. Suggest topic ideas for a monthly customer newsletter, drawing on those notes alone. Leave out any service, offer, award, staff member or price I haven't named. Ask me when you need more detail.

Three habits help.

• Say what's off limits. Offers, prices, dates, awards and staff names are the usual trouble spots.
• Ask for questions back. A tool that asks "what's the new opening time?" is safer than one that guesses.
• Ask for topic titles and a one-line angle. A short answer has less room for made-up detail than a full draft.

You can also ask for general, educational topics that don't mention your business at all, such as how to prepare a garden for a dry season. Those carry less risk, though any factual advice still needs a source you've checked.

Turn ideas into a simple schedule

Once you have a list worth keeping, ask the tool to arrange it. Give it your sending rhythm (weekly, fortnightly or monthly) and any fixed dates you know are real, such as a stocktake closure. Then ask for a table of issue, topic and what you'd need to supply.

That last column is the useful one. It turns each topic into a to-do list for you, so you know what facts to gather before drafting.

What to cut before you commit

On claims, Australia's consumer regulator wants anything a business says about what it sells to be accurate and truthful. It should rest on reasonable grounds too.³ A topic plan that includes a claim you can't support is a problem waiting for a draft.

Read down the list with a pen. Strike out any topic that:

• depends on an offer you haven't decided to run;
• claims something about your business you can't back up;
• repeats a topic you covered recently;
• promises a result for customers.

Keep the schedule loose. A plan that leaves room for real news beats a fixed list that forces you to write about nothing. When the real news arrives, swap it in, then turn to your first real draft.