50 marketing mistakes / Mistake #37
Mistake #37 of 50Don’t let AI erase your personality.
If everything sounds like generic AI copy, you’ve traded one problem for another.
What it costs you
Generic is invisible.
AI beat the blank page. Great.
But now every email sounds the same. “We truly value your business.” “We’re thrilled to announce.” “Don’t hesitate to reach out.”
It’s smooth. It’s polite. It could be from anybody.
If it could be from anybody, it’s from nobody.
People don’t do business with a template. They do business with you. If they can’t hear you in it, they forget who sent it.
A real example
Hope the new tires made the drive
An auto repair shop starts using AI for its thank-you texts.
Every one comes out the same: “Thanks for coming in! We truly appreciate your business.”
Nice. Forgettable. Customers stop reading them.
So the owner adds one real thing to each one before it goes out.
“Thanks for coming in. Hope the new tires made the drive to your daughter’s place a lot smoother.”
That one could only be from him.
Same text. One extra line. Now it sounds like the guy who actually listened.
Why it happens
Why everything starts sounding the same
Your customers already know how you talk. Make it sound like that.
Do this instead
Make it sound like you.
Before anything goes out, do three things. Read it out loud: if you wouldn’t say it, change it. Cut it: most first drafts are too long, so take out a third. Add one real thing: a name, a detail, something only you would know.
| Cut | Use instead |
|---|---|
| “We truly value your business.” | “Thanks for coming in, Sam.” |
| “We’re thrilled to announce…” | “Good news: we’re open Thursday nights now.” |
| “Don’t hesitate to reach out.” | “Call me. Here’s my cell.” |
| “Elevate your experience.” | Say what actually happens. |
| A stock opening line | The thing they told you last time |
| A perfect paragraph | The way you’d say it at the counter |
Better yet, don’t type. Talk. Ramble into your phone the way you’d say it to a customer, and let AI clean it up. Because it started with your words, it sounds like you.
Do this today
- 1
Pull up the last three things AI wrote for you that went out.
- 2
Read them out loud. Circle every line you’d never actually say.
- 3
Write down five phrases you really use with customers.
- 4
Next time, paste those into your ask (“Write it like this”), add one real detail, and end with what you want them to do.
AI can do the typing. Only you can sound like you.
From the book
Chapter 14: Let AI Do the Typing
Starts on page 126. The whole chapter, plus 250+ ways to market your business, in the free book.
Download the free bookIdeas that fix it
A personal touch they can keep.
Idea 3 · book page 263Pick Up the PhoneFreeAlmost nobody calls anymore, so a real call stands out.
Idea 107 · book page 315Car Air Fresheners$1.50–$4 eachHangs in the car for weeks.
Idea 114 · book page 318License Plate Frames$2–$5 eachA rolling ad for years.
Idea 119 · book page 321Mini Flashlights$2–$6 eachKept in glove boxes and toolboxes.
Idea 158 · book page 340Basic T-Shirts$6–$15 eachAn advertisement people wear for years.Want a plan that still sounds like you?
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