Crafting Content That AI Can’t Copy
This is Doug Lawson, Ray’s Chief Content Officer. I’m back with Round 2 of a three-part series to help you turn your content into a pipeline-building machine.
Last week, I shared some strong opinions about those AI prompt giveaways that have everyone scrambling to create cookie-cutter content. If you missed it, the core message was simple: when 5,000+ people use the same prompts, you get mass-manufactured content with the same structure, tone, and style.
The result? LinkedIn feeds that look like one endless toilet paper roll of sameness.
But here’s the thing... I’m not against AI. I love AI. What I’m against is people using it as a substitute for original thinking and a coherent strategy.
The Craftsman's Approach to AI
Think about it this way: a master woodworker doesn’t blame their tools for a poor creation. They understand that tools amplify skill—they don’t replace it.
The same applies to content creation. AI is a multiplier, not a muse.
If you’re feeding garbage into AI—unclear positioning, generic topics, vanilla perspectives—you’re going to get garbage out. Just more efficiently produced garbage.
But if you feed AI a clear, differentiated content strategy? That’s when the magic happens.
The Content Divide Most Get Wrong
Here's where most people go astray. They're creating B2C content for a B2B audience.
What's the difference?
B2C content aims to:
→ Appeal to personal emotions and identity
→ Reach the widest possible audience
→ Drive immediate action (usually a small purchase)
→ Create viral moments and mass engagement
B2B content needs to:
→ Speak to business outcomes AND personal career goals
→ Target a much smaller, more specific audience
→ Address complex, multi-stakeholder buying processes
→ Build relationships over time, not viral moments
When I see folks obsessing over engagement or impressions, I know they're playing the B2C game. But if you're selling high-ticket services or solutions to businesses, that's the wrong game entirely.
Most B2B content creators I work with are shocked when I tell them:
"Your content isn't designed to go viral. It's designed to be discovered by exactly 50 decision-makers you want to work with this year."
That's right. 50. Not 5,000. Not 50,000.
Find your 50, not your 1,000.
This shift in mindset changes everything about how you approach content.
What Does a Winning Content Strategy Look Like?
In my work with founders who’ve gone from virtually unknown to generating six- and seven-figure revenue on LinkedIn alone, I’ve noticed their content strategies share a few specific characteristics:
1️⃣ They're built on a foundation of targeted psychological triggers
Most content creators focus on what they want to say. The elite focus on what their ideal clients need to hear—at specific stages of the buying journey.
Remember those three positioning questions I asked you to answer in my last email?
What do you want people to say about you when you're not in the room?
If your company went out of business tomorrow, what would be missing in the market?
If you could make just one claim that no one else could make, what would it be?
Your answers aren't just fluffy branding exercises. They're the psychological hooks that will trigger recognition and resonance with your ideal clients.
3️⃣ They focus on people who've already tried solutions
The real money is in creating content for people who:
Have already tried solutions like yours before
Are actively comparing providers right now
These people don't need to be educated about their problems.
They don't need to be convinced that a solution like yours exists.
They need to be convinced that YOU understand their specific situation better than anyone else.
(Trying to market to problem and/or solution unaware people on a platform like LinkedIn is only going to create a very long sales cycle and misery)
3️⃣They build content pillars, not random posts
Random acts of content don’t build businesses. Strategic pillars do.
The most successful B2B content creators I work with identify 3–4 core themes they want to be known for—and hammer those themes consistently. They approach them from different angles, tell different stories, but always reinforce the same fundamental beliefs and frameworks.
When someone sees your content repeatedly addressing the same core themes, they build a mental model of what you stand for.
And when that mental model aligns with their needs? That’s when the magic happens.
Why Content Strategy Matters More Than Ever
In the age of AI, the gap between mediocre and exceptional content will only widen. Here's why:
Everyone has access to the same AI tools.
Most people will feed these tools the same generic prompts.
The winners will be those who feed AI distinctive strategies and perspectives.
AI doesn't eliminate the need for strategy. It amplifies it. Without a clear strategy, you're just creating more forgettable content, faster.
How to Transform Your Strategy
Next week in Phase 3, I'll show you exactly how to pick content topics and where to source them BEFORE you multiply with AI. (Hint: it's probably not what you think!)
But for now, I want you to take those three positioning questions from last week and transform them into distinct content pillars.
Here's how:
For each answer you provided, identify the core belief or principle that underlies it
Ask yourself: "What are the top 3 misconceptions my ideal clients have about this principle?"
For each misconception, what's your contrarian viewpoint?
These contrarian viewpoints become the foundation of your content pillars. The themes you'll return to again and again, exploring from different angles and through different stories.
Remember, you're not creating content for thousands of passive scrollers. You're creating content for 50 specific decision makers who can transform your business this year.
Next week, we'll dive into exactly how to generate an endless supply of content ideas that are perfectly aligned with your strategy.
See you then.
— Doug
