Are you still creating SEO content with nothing but human power?
If so, you’re putting yourself at a disadvantage. 😰
AIO content has arrived – and it’s here to stay. If you’re not investing in an AIO writer, you might get left behind.
Human-only SEO content creation is now more costly and less efficient than using AI to speed up the process.
That’s why, in this blog guide, I’m going to show you the new route:
Human-led, AI-driven content – including how I’ve implemented this in my own team.
It starts with an AIO writer.
But what is an AIO writer, and what is AIO content?
What Is an AIO Writer? Why You Need One at the Helm of Your AI Content Creation
Let’s start with the elephant in the room: the acronym “AIO”.
AIO Definition
“AIO” stands for Artificial Intelligence Optimization. I defined it in January when I started working at Content at Scale. (Read the story on the Content at Scale blog.) This is the process of improving AI content by optimizing it with the expertise of a human trained in SEO and content writing.
AIO Content
That means “AIO content” is content produced by an AI (artificial intelligence) AND optimized by a human so it aligns with content goals and reads well for other humans. Because it’s supported by AI, AIO content can be produced 5-10x faster than just using human power alone.
AIO Writer
And that brings us to “AIO writer.”
An AIO writer is how you leverage both AI writer tools and human writing expertise. The human AIO writer is well-versed in SEO content and understands how to use a tool like Content at Scale to optimize and edit AI output to ensure the content is relevant, factually accurate, informative, and compelling. ✔
(Remember the issues inherent in using any type of AI writing software? Without a human guiding your tool, you might be left with unoriginal, inaccurate, or robotic-sounding content. No matter how good it is, no AI tool is perfect.)
The bottom line: The help of a solid AI tool allows us to cut the cost, time, and effort SEO content used to require by at least half, if not more. And we do it by giving our writers and content teams an AI baseline to work with.
What should that look like? How do you pay AIO writers when you use this model? Here’s what I’ve come up with based on implementing this in my own content process. ⬇
Want an in-depth, hand-holding guide to implementing this in YOUR content marketing? Get the low-down on my entire content process, including tools and systems, in my Content Process Blueprint.
An Example of AIO Produced Content
My Model for Hiring AIO Writers and Pricing AIO Content
If you’ve been around for a while, you know one of my content secrets is to NOT produce everything alone.
Instead, I’ve been able to publish eight books and thousands of blogs because I use a writer trained in my voice, style, and expertise – Alyssa. Her full-time job is to write my content. 👩💻
After years of entirely-human content creation, in mid-January, we leaped into AIO content. Here’s what that looked like:
- I gave Alyssa a keyword and topic to write about: best AI tool for blogging.
- How that looked in the past:
- Normally, she would take those (plus a few notes from me in a short content brief) and research the top-ranking pieces on Google. She’d take inspiration from their SEO structure and outline a piece geared for the Content Hacker audience. She’d flesh it out with research, story, examples, CTAs, and images or screenshots. Then she would self-edit and hand it to me for review.
- Before, this process would take 7-8 hours (spread over a single work week) from start to finish for an average 2,000-word blog.
- For the first, time, she would use Content at Scale to write the first draft and cut her work in half.
- The baseline blog draft that Content at Scale produced was surprisingly good (yes, we’re still constantly surprised at the quality of this tool’s output 😂). All it needed was some editing to make it better, including adding in our tone, style, story, screenshots, and CTAs.
- How that looked in the past:
The results:
Here’s the post Alyssa wrote with the help of our AI writing tool:
How much time did she save?
She cut her work time down by more than half. Instead of working on a piece for 7-8 hours spread over a week, it took her 2-3 hours over one day. ⚡
Best of all, we were both happy with the result.
Based on this first experience, I examined the details and talked to my writer. We came up with a new pay scale for working on AIO content in our team, which we’re now implementing. 🎉
Let’s talk about it: the AIO Hiring and Pricing Model.
OLD Process: Quality SEO Content Created Solely by a Human Writer
- 2,500w SEO blog, created by a human writer from start to finish.
- Time: 8 hours.
- Cost: $0.10-0.30 per word, or $500.
- A human editor edits to ensure it passes quality standards.
- Content is published.
Quality content created from scratch by a human writer takes a lot of time and effort. If you try to squeeze less time out of your writer, you run the risk of draining their creativity dry and giving them a giant case of burn-out.
With the old process, we also need a human editor, because the writer should rarely edit their own work. Once this piece goes through the wringer and passes through multiple hands, we can publish.
Compared to the new process, this old way feels like using an abacus versus a calculator to solve a complex math problem:
Tedious. Slow. Grinding.
NEW Process: Quality SEO Content Developed with an AIO Writer + AI Writing Tool
- An AI long-form writer like Content at Scale writes the 2,500w first draft.
- Time: 10-20 minutes.
- Cost: $0.07 per word, or $175, with Content at Scale.
- An AIO writer takes the AI-written draft and improves it with smart edits.
- Content is published.
The differences here are mind-blowing. Using an AIO writer + an AI writing tool saves hours of time and hundreds of dollars. 🤯
The tool produces an extremely decent first draft. Then the AIO writer takes that draft and makes it better, bringing it to the level of publish-worthy.
When we allow a capable AI tool to do the brunt of the front-end thinking and researching, that just leaves polishing and editing – which any good writer can do much faster than grinding out a first draft.
The difference? Content created in one day versus one week.
How do you write AIO content well?
Follow my C.R.A.F.T. framework:
AIO Writer’s C.R.A.F.T. Framework
1. Cut the fluff (remove excess words from the AI writing)
2. Review, edit, optimize (review the AI content to make sure keywords appear sufficient times, the content reads well as a whole, sections are complete and nothing is missing)
3. Add images, visuals, media (make your content feature/visual-rich)
4. Fact-check (be sure to double-check all facts and verify accuracy, since AI can be limited in its factual knowledge)
5. Trust-build with personal story, tone, links (add personal story, and/or customer case studies; link to known studies or sources, and make sure you link back to CTAs and next steps for leads on your site – i.e. to have them book a call, etc.)
What Is an AIO Writer? Your New Secret to Content Success
The combination of an AIO writer + an effective AI writing tool could be the formula that finally allows you to scale your content production.
And producing more high-quality content more often is your ticket to 55% more traffic and 434% more pages indexed in Google.
This opens up content marketing success to SO many more people than just the ones with the resources to scale. It levels the playing field, so to speak.
If you’re a solopreneur, a bootstrapped small business, or a marketer struggling with output, that’s fantastic news.
And if you need help getting started growing your business, you’re in the right place. 📍
My in-depth mentorship program, the Content Transformation System, teaches you how to build an online brand that lasts with content marketing. We’ll also show you how to implement AI seamlessly without losing the human touch that makes great content sing.
It’s all inside: coaching, curriculum, community, and live calls. Apply today!
