You can use AI to speed up your storytelling and keep your authenticity, as long as you do the foundational work first. Start with your brand, your story bank, and your ideal customer, give the AI your real story, and edit until it sounds like you talking to a friend.
Prefer to watch? Here's the video version: https://youtu.be/DEDbaKBmOas
Can AI write your stories for you?
Not the stories themselves. AI cannot do the foundational work. If you use it to skip over branding or story mining, you'll be disappointed in what it gives you, because it can only offer generic stories or ones other people might be using. That kind of content keeps you consistent on your schedule, but it doesn't grow your brand or generate revenue.
So start with a solid brand foundation, a story bank, and ideal customer work. Do that, and the process of creating and sharing stories gets a million times easier.
What should you give AI before you ask for a story?
A master brand document. Mine covers my story, ideal customer, core messages, offer, and unique positioning. I upload it into my AI tool first so it knows everything about my brand voice, vibe, and values. I personally use Claude, but this works with any AI tool.
Once that's in place, AI is excellent at structure and refinement, and at giving you different angles so one story can become an email, a YouTube video, social posts, or even an ad.
What's my exact workflow for writing stories with AI?
Gather your stories in a story bank. As I go about my day, I add stories to my bank with notes while I'm thinking about them, so I don't forget the details when I create content.
Write the raw story. Sometimes I write it out. Lately I'm gravitating toward audio, because I verbally process well and I create my best content when I start with a voice note. Audio also picks up the little words I say a lot but might not write.
Start with your brand document. Upload it before you share any story.
Ask for a specific output. Tell it what you're creating, like a week of carousel posts, a reel, an email, or a YouTube video, and which story to highlight.
Edit for authenticity. Make sure the words are ones you'd actually use. If they aren't, tell the tool, "I don't use this word. I say this instead," or rewrite it and upload your version for reference.
Feed it back. Within the same thread, Claude remembers those corrections, and my stories sound more like me every time. By now I mostly edit for structure, not voice.
This turns what could be two hours of creating a week of social content, or even one email, into 10 to 15 minutes.
What prompt can you use?
Here's a simple one. Tell it everything about your brand (your brand document goes here), give it your raw story, and say: write a 250-word email in my voice that validates my audience's struggle, connects to my story, and leads into my offer.
Being this specific, and giving it detail about your brand, creates a better output. Most people share prompts and skip the first step, which is teaching the tool your brand.
What's the authenticity test?
If it doesn't sound like you talking to a friend, don't post it. AI should enhance your voice and speed up the process. It shouldn't replace you.
A client told me she shifted her mindset to speaking to a friend while writing her emails, put that into an AI tool, and asked it to clean up and structure it. She had an email in no time.
Where should you start?
With your story bank. It's the first step, and it's what makes everything else work.
I teach my clients an Authentic Brand Accelerator process: about two weeks of diving deep into their brand before touching AI, then creating the master brand document. You can learn more here.
If you want my help adding stories to your story bank, grab the Storytelling Content Super Bundle for just $27.
Then watch this next, because it's the very first step: How to Build Your Story Bank in 30 Minutes.
P.S. Ready to build a revenue-generating brand? One that not only stands out online but also makes it easier than ever to create high-value content? Tune in to my free brand class and learn my Build a Better Brand Method. Watch now at brandmerry.com/class.
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Hey there, I’m Michelle Knight!
I’m an online branding and marketing consultant for female entrepreneurs.
I believe in the power of storytelling and using that superpower to brand and market yourself online...oh and to set yourself free.
I'm obsessed with living a life of freedom, so much so, that my family and I travel the world (sometimes in an RV) while running my business.
This blog serves as a home base for all things branding, marketing, content creation, productivity, and more.
