How to Use Artificial Intelligence (ChatGPT) to Create Content for Your Notary Business

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During my recent Prolific Content Creation workshop at NBB, a student asked me what I thought of using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to write content for blogs. 

This is literally a workshop where I write a piece of content, like a blog article, from scratch, in collaboration with fellow members, and we make it customizable so each notary can use a personalized version of it on their own platforms. 

So…

Being the writer snob that I am, shared my distaste of some random robot wrecking my craft. 

I wasn’t a fan. 

Writing is supposed to be pure, I said. It’s supposed to be an extension of our soul, I cried. It’s our personality on paper, I pontificated. 

Blah, blah, blah. 

The fact is, not everyone enjoys writing as much as I do, and that’s okay.

That doesn’t mean the need to write or otherwise create valuable content is any less important. 

Content should not be ignored.

Content creation is critical for next level success. This is how your ideal customers get to know, like, and trust you.  I’ve been preaching it for over five years now. If more notaries did it, more phones would ring. 

But with Artificial Intelligence?

Isn't AI supposed to destroy the world?

As I pacified my fears of a “Terminator” style end of civilization-as-we-know-it with a cookie and a nap, I said, hmm, what if…AI actually makes content creation more accessible to those notaries who think it’s out of reach right now? 

I mean, if I truly believe that content helps build successful businesses (I do), and notaries need help creating content (they do), then shouldn't I at least give it a look?

So I tried it using ChatGPT (free) and an app that uses their AI, Chatteo (paid). 

How good could a robot’s writing be anyway, right?

Here’s the response from Chatteo to the very first message I sent, “mobile notary near me”:

Okay, not bad, robot.

Not bad at all. Decent definition. Great tip on finding a notary for sure. 

It’s not perfect. 

But then again, what writing is perfect, especially on the first go-round. 

Hemingway said, “The first draft of anything is sh!%.”

And some of these other samples I got from ChatGPT were exactly that, sh!%. 

Lemme show you what I mean.

When I messaged “How much does a mobile notary cost?”, here’s the response I received from Chatteo:

But I think I like ChatGPT's answer better when I tweaked the question a bit to, "How much is a mobile notary":

And what if we wanted to write something about another service we commonly offer in our business these days, apostille facilitation? 

I asked Chatteo, "What is an apostille?" Here's what it had to say:

And here's what happened when I asked Chatteo, "What's the best way to get out of a speeding ticket?":

Note to self...

While imperfect and incomplete, these auto-produced responses are actually quite good for prompts. 

With a little tickling of the keyboard, AI programs like ChatGPT could be the answer for notaries who struggle to create content. 

In the Prolific Content Creation course, we just wrote two articles; one about the REAL ID updates, and one about the rise in "smishing" scams. Combined research included reading at least 12-15 different websites and resources and we created some decent content. 

I was curious what ChatGPT would do with it. 

Chatteo:

Ultimately, pretty worthless, but it might be a good starting point. 

But look what happens when we asked the chatbot, "How can I avoid a smishing attack?"

The suggestions generated from AI are similar to what we found in all the research (see our article here). And if there was a bit more of a story here, sprinkled with some personality, this might actually be a valuable piece of content. 

Be aware that using Artificial Intelligence comes with some risks of inaccuracies (among others). Look at this example of the question I asked, “What is In-Person Electronic Notarization?”-legal in all 50 states, and is, in fact, performed in-person.  

Incorrect info from Chatteo:

The answer provided was clearly about Remote Online Notarization (RON)- which is not yet legal for notaries in all 50 states to perform, and is done virtually. 

That’s a big deal. 

If you decide to use AI, use it wisely and with appropriate due diligence. This is relatively new technology and we'll need to be patient and observant. 

If you want to take a stab at it, here are my suggestions. 

Five Ways to Get Started with Artificial Intelligence to Write Your Notary Content:  

1. Visit ChatGPT here (it's free)
2. Tinker and play with it a bit. It’s insanely simple to use and gets smarter every day. (yes, I paid about $6 for 500 credits on the paid app, Chatteo, from the app store so I could play with it…a lot!)
3. Ask better questions to get better answers. (And yes, 500 credits on Chatteo goes pretty fast!-stick to the free ChatGPT website)
4. Use your results as a writing prompt only. Utilize it as a launch pad instead of the final destination. Add your personality and your own state-specific information, to make it relevant and valuable for your prospects. 
5. Get creative with where you use your content. Consider:
• Blogs
• Vlogs (video blogs)
• Social Media Posts
• LinkedIn Articles
• Google Business Profile posts
• And certainly emails to your database

Never forget that YOUR personal flavor and personality is ultimately what makes or breaks your business. If your content reads like a robot wrote it, no one is going to read it. More importantly, your prospects miss out on an opportunity to get to know, like, and trust you. Which means, they probably won’t hire you. 

I asked Chatteo "What are the best questions to ask an attorney before you hire them?"

Now this is a great launching point for a useful article. This could be enhanced with a personal story of yours, or a story you heard somehwere. You could add your own flare, and then easily optimize for keywords and phrases you hope to rank for in Google. 

This is where I see the value of AI.

It can help us be more efficient content creators. 

We all struggle with coming up with content ideas, even if you love to write.

And who has time to read 12-15 research articles every week?

It looks as though a tool like ChatGPT or Chatteo might help. 

As there often is with new technology, and according to the Search Engine Journal, there is debate over ethical use of AI generated content, and whether or not Google considers content written by AI as auto-generated content, which could trigger a manual penalty (whatever that is). 

The last thing we need is to be in Google-jail (again). 

Use AI as the tool it is, not the end-all-be-all. Avoid a simple copy and paste of the responses you receive. 

Trust your inner creative and enhance the response to assemble a valuable piece of content for your ideal customers. 

Consistently creating & distributing content has helped double my audience and my revenue many times over, both as a field notary, and as a trainer, author, creator, and investor. 

I know it will help you too, no matter which direction you choose to scale or pivot your business.

And if using AI helps you create consistent content, I say go for it.

Content creation is that important.

Still not sure? 

Ask the chatbot. I did.

This Artificial Intelligence has taken "Know Thyself" to a whole new level. 

If you’re scribe-raging me right now for advocating the possibilities with artificial intelligence, I get it. 

It took me a minute to embrace the inevitable as well (I think the tech layoffs of late are going to cause a surge of innovation in the next 2-3 years, and AI is a hot focus right now). 

So if you happen to be a fellow graphomaniac, rest assured, even with AI, and maybe because of it, the divide between good writing and great writing will widen. 

And therein lies another opportunity. It’s everywhere.

Tell me what you think. Will you try using artificial intelligence to create content for your notary business?

Bill Soroka teaches a Prolific Content Creation Course in the Notary Business Builder advanced mastermind program. He is also the best selling author of three books (and counting) designed to help notaries build their dream business. 

Connect with Bill on LinkedIn here.