Category: Marketing tools

I’ve tried copy.ai around February of this year, and I really wasn’t impressed with it. However, there’s been a steady stream of positive buzz around it, including people in the content and marketing space that I trust and respect, so I figured I’d give it another try.

Signed up for a trial account, and they do provide you with a very structured experience.

First prompt that came up for me by default was this:

For the sake of testing it, I went with a fictional product: Podcorder, a tool for recording, producing and publishing podcasts.

Here are some of the results it got me:

Here’s the full list:

Pain: We have tried a number of podcast recording apps, but none of them offers all the features we needed.

Agitate: We were using separate tools for recording the voice-over, editing different mp3 files, copying files to our server, publishing to Itunes and so forth.

Solution: Podcorder offers A-Z podcast recording and production features: from recording and editing to publishing and distributing your podcast.

Pain: Finding the perfect podcast app that offers all the features? Impossible – there’s a million options!

Agitate: That’s why you should choose Podcorder for your recording needs – Simple yet powerful, and packed full of must-have features to grow your podcast.

Solution: Podcorder is easy to use, helps you to record high quality audio directly in the app and has more than enough exclusive features to make your audio sound amazing. Use it as studio-quality voice recorder or microphone for your interviews, music production or narrations. With Podcorder anyone can record like a pro – create, edit and publish podcasts with just one app.

Pain: You can easily outgrow the limitations built into your smartphone. For many podcasters, this leads to employing two or more specific tools for recording, editing and publishing of podcasts.

Agitate: Podcorder changes all that.

Solution: Podcorder not only allows you to record your podcast with ease from right within your smartphone, it also provides complete audio editing features. Also, podcasters will appreciate our one-click publish function to get their recordings online fast and easy.
Pain: Creating podcast episodes can be time consuming and there are different technical challenges every time you record an episode.

Agitate: Podcasters manage to deliver great content but there is a lot of technical work that goes into recording, editing and publishing their episodes. It’s something podcasters have to do manually each and every time.

Solution: Podcorder is a complete podcasting app built with the amateur, expert podcaster in mind. Create a podcast just as easily as you create an Instagram snap or your Facebook status. We take care of everything for you – from recording to publishing, while you focus on bringing your best content to your audience.

Pain: Traditional podcasting can seem like a daunting task.

Agitate: Podcasters often use a collection of archaic, complex applications and scripts to record their audio, publish it to the web and manage stats to drive marketing efforts.

Solution: Podcorder promises a single, simple solution that allows podcasters to focus on creating great content to draw listeners.

Pain: Audacity is okay if you just want to edit, mix an audio track and export a final file. Otherwise, it’s very difficult to get the sound right.

Agitate: Podcorder has a complete suite of recording features such as monitoring gain, recording formats, channel configuration and ‘noise gate’. This allows you to record top quality audio every time even if you don’t have professional studio kit.

Solution: The software also includes features for the non-technical user such as time-stamped podcast production and publishing; all within a slick and easy-to-use interface.

Pain: You want to make a podcast, but you’re a complete beginner.

Agitate: You need an app that lets you do everything, right from its name.

Solution: Creator Adam and his team have created Podcorder to be the perfect podcasting tool for beginner podcasters and big-name hosts alike. We haven’t scrimped on features – Podcorder is packed with tools to help you get your podcast published at the touch of a button.

I was surprised by the quality of these. Obviously there’s still need for a human to go over these, edit, adjust, and change, but considering that it took less than a minute to generate all of these, that’s dope. A great jumping off point, especially if you’re often writing copy for different markets, industries, and products.

So as a tool to optimize the research and brainstorming phase, I honestly got to give it high scores.

I was curious how much copy.AI is simply ripping off related copy from the web. For example, the copy it has generated for the final version of a solution said: “Creator Adam and his team have created Podcorder to be the perfect podcasting tool for beginner podcasters and big-name hosts alike. We haven’t scrimped on features – Podcorder is packed with tools to help you get your podcast published at the touch of a button.”

So I searched for that on Google:

Copy.AI passed on that front too! They’re definitely not like these old content spinners that used to be around.

When you find a version you like, you can click the “Make more” button and it will generate more variations based on this:

You’ll have to scroll down, because the new variations will be appended to the bottom of the list. These are the results it generated:

You can also edit the generated copy directly in there.

Super simple and intuitive. It also seems to factor in any edits you make into the new results you generate based on the edited version.

So as far as the Pain-Agitate-Solution tool of Copy.Ai is concerned, I do think it can be useful for generating copy, especially if this is something you do often and for different kinds of products, services, and industries.

Generating blog post ideas with Copy.AI

Again, I started with my fictional product Podcorder:

These are the results I got:

• Why “Podcorder” The Perfect Podcast Recording App? A blog to help you understand why this app is so darn great.
• What is the Best Podcasting Equipment? Publishing Platforms, Hosting and More: A blog about the best podcasting equipment and production platforms.
• 5 Things You Should Do Before You Start Recording Your Podcast: Tips and tricks to get the most out of Podcorder
• The Best Podcast Apps for Android: A blog showcasing the best podcasting apps in Android.
• Podcorder for Android Review: A blog outlining the app and why it is useful.
• How To Make a Podcast (The Ultimate Guide): A blog geared towards new podcasters and looking at all things podcasting.
• How to Start a Podcast—and Make Your First Episode: A blog discussing the steps needed to get started making a podcast.
• 5 things you should do before you start recording your podcasts.
• Get the most out of your podcast! From picking a topic to recording your podcast, here are some tips and tricks for Podcorder.
• Thousands of people use Podcorder to record & publish their podcasts. Read this guide to ensure your podcast has the best chance of connecting with an audience.
• You are about to embark on a marvelous journey of audio discovery with Podcorder. We’ve mapped out your best route in this helpful guide.
• 5 things you can do right now to make your podcast even better.
• You’ve worked hard to produce your podcast. Now it’s time to plan how you’ll publish it and promote it. Don’t leave anything to chance. Be proactive about your podcast, and take the following steps before you start recording your first episode.
• Here are five things to do before starting a podcast. You won’t want to miss these helpful tips!

I’d say on this front, copy.ai is doing… okay. If you’ve got little to no experience with content marketing, these seems like a decent brainstorming tool. I can also see a marketing agency using this to spit out a bunch of blog post ideas to local businesses and entrepreneurs that don’t get marketing.

But if you want to create content that actually performs, you’re better off doing the actual brainstorming yourself. Seems copy.ai is fine for sputtering out blog post ideas of the kind that are whole unremarkable, and which are cluttering up the web without ever making an impact.

Creating an AI generated blog post from bullet points

Next I tried the Bullet Points to Blog feature:

So the first thing I noticed here is that you run into the 400 character limit real quick, which made me wonder how much of a blog post copy.ai can create out of bullet points:

Here the results:

• Podcorder is a powerful yet simple podcasting app that offers complete A-Z recording, production and publishing features. It is the perfect solution when you need to record audio on the go or want to upload your favorite pod episodes to your favorite social media sites such as Facebook. Podcorder has great features for experienced podcasters as well as beginners. The app offers a variety of recording capacities ranging from one to four hosts/ guests at a time along with zero post production delay.
  
• Do you know the difference between a podcast and an audio book? Podcasting requires editing (a lot of work), while an audio book can be read straight through.Audio books are also more convenient to listen to while you commute to or from work. If you prefer to read books on the way to work, then audio books are your best option.
  
• Podcorder is an inexpensive, off-the-shelf smartphone camera that fits into your pocket. For around $400, you can buy one that records high-quality 1080P video at 30 frames per second. You can also pick up professional-looking tripods that look like any other ordinary camera accessory and allow you to shoot professional-looking videos even if you have limited space.
  
• One of the best things you can do in 2015 for your podcast infrastructure is upgrade your current podcatching software. Professional editing is all about music and voice, and podcatching excels at both of those things. It’s definitely not a painless process–if you’re asking yourself, “how do I get started”, you’re probably going to need a substantial investment in time (and money) before you get shooting. But the potential payoff is huge: simplifying the ways in which you find, hear, and process information makes it easier for you to create content and make better podcast episodes.
  
• Podreader is a simple and lightweight device which allows you to read your calls, texts and emails on your TV without having to get out of bed. The device features Google Now voice search and Cardboard technology that allows users to view presentations on their visuals without having to look through the menus on their mobiles. The company states that it has received over 1 million pre-orders from around the world and is well on track to fulfilling all orders before the end of this month.

As you can see, some of these are very off and random. Given the character limit, and the results my attempt generated, I wondered if making the bullet points really short would yield better results. So here’s another attempt:

And here are the results:

• Podcorder is one of the top downloaded podcast app in APK for android phones. This amazing podcast recording app has got stunning sounding effects, and you can record any talk show or podcast with professional quality voice overs. The best thing about Podcorder is that you don’t need to be connected to the internet connection during recording, it works completely offline. Best of all these effects can be used without any additional software or subscriptions, so it is exactly what you need when you need
• SoundCloud is a popular platform for producers and musicians to share and discover new tracks and music. But did you know you can use it to record interviews as well? Before you know it, you’ll have your first podcast episode ready to air on various media outlets around the country. Here’s how:
• Hiring a professional sound mixer for your podcasts is a mistake. Yes, hiring a professional brings a higher price tag. But you’re getting more than just a great sound quality exchange – you’re getting professional editing software that works on all platforms (Mac OSX, Windows, and Linux) with some features only available through expensive mixers.You loose the creative control of your shows when you rely on an expensive editing software to make them look good.
• The best podcast player is the one you choose. Yes, there are dozens of choices out there, but the difference between them has pretty much been eliminated by today’s consumers. Sure, there are still a few duds floating around out there like the old Cam Mixx, but overall they’re doing a much better job of blending audio and video for all users. And let’s not forget the benefits of powered memory cards!
• Most people want to record their daily life or create music while on the go. So what’s the best way to do it? How can you build a tool which will make this process as easy as possible? I’ve spent hours testing over a dozen different apps and accessories, and ended up with a list of recommendations that should work for almost everyone. Podcorder is a combination of several different apps. When you open the app, it scans your hand for a 10 digit code. This code is stored in the app and can be used to record a set of audio notes for your journal or for starting a music project.
• A podcorder is a device used to record media from a variety of sources, such as a camera. The purpose of this tool is to create a detailed report with a specific set of information regarding the media captured. This can be used to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of content (images, audio, video), as well as create a strategy for improving your content strategy moving forward.
• Are you an entrepreneur who makes podcast-based content for your own personal consumption? If so, you should be aware of the advantages of using a podcorder. With the right software, you can record audio and video clips, which you can then upload to your favorite social media sites or websites that allow podcast embedding — generally those run by companies that specialize in providing custom downloadable media solutions.
• Imagine a device that can record and playback audio directly from your mobile device without having to download a separate app. Sound is already part of our world; we can’t ignore it. And with the advances in cloud computing and artificial intelligence, there’s no saying when audio technology will reach its next stage and become more than just a fad for tech enthusiasts. The possibilities are virtually endless with technology still trying to understand how humans hear. There could be whole new industries created just based on sound, including home theater and gaming.
• It may seem odd to compare a podcopter to a drone, but there are some key differences. A podcopter’s maximum flying range is significantly less than that of a drone, which makes it more suitable for casual use and less practical for airborne photography. A podcopter’s battery life is also shorter, which means you’re likely to run out of power before getting a shot you’re happy with. Still, a good camera drone can do some amazing things with a surprisingly affordable price tag.
• Have you ever wanted to create a video with your favorite podcasters, but never had the budget or resources? If so, you’re not alone. Over the last decade, podcorder technology has come a long way. Today there are numerous podcorders on the market, each designed for a particular purpose. A major decision when choosing a podcorder is what types of recordings to include–and how much space they need.
• Would you like to record unlimited shows for your friends and family? Would you like to listen to music stored on your phone, tablet or computer? If so, you may have heard of Podcasting.fm. This is a new way of getting music for free that allows users to discover, share and listen to music right from the web. Podcasting is still in its infancy but there are already some fantastic applications out there like NewsBlur, which allows you to post to Instagram and listen to music straight from Twitter…

Based on these results, I don’t think copy.ai is a good solution for generating blog posts off bullet points. (Although it surely explains some of the copy I’ve seen for apps and products!)

Make an Emoji List

If you do a lot of social media marketing, posts that feature a list with plenty of emojis tend to be doing pretty well these days, but it’s also a pain to pick through the list of hundreds of emojis (aka I hate that shit). So if there’s a tool that does that, that’s definitely neat—and copy.ai does! Here’s me giving it a test run:

And here the results:

🎙️ Podcorder is a powerful yet simple podcast recording app that offers complete A-Z recording, production and publishing features.
sound like a professionally produced podcast
don’t hire expensive sound engineers
easy to use
no complicated audio editing software
1-click publish
built-in podcast distribution
cutting-edge AI technology
excellent support
podcasters love podcorder

🎙 Podcorder is a powerful yet simple podcast recording app that offers complete A-Z recording, production and publishing features.
sound like a professionally produced podcast
🎧 don’t hire expensive sound engineers
😁 easy to use
📺 no complicated audio editing software
🔗 built-in podcast distribution
🍞 cutting-edge AI technology
👩

🎤 Podcorder is a powerful yet simple podcast recording app that offers complete A-Z recording, production and publishing features.
sound like a professionally produced podcast
🤑 don’t hire expensive sound engineers
👍 easy to use
👩‍🏫 no complicated audio editing software
👉 1-click publish
😍 built-in podcast distribution

🎧 Podcorder is a powerful yet simple podcast recording app that offers complete A-Z recording, production and publishing features.
X sound like a professionally produced podcast
⏲ don’t hire expensive sound engineers
💡 easy to use
🔍 no complicated audio editing software
📊 1-click publish
👍 built-in podcast distribution

🍎 Podcorder is a powerful yet simple podcast recording app that offers complete A-Z recording, production and publishing features.
🚀 sound like a professionally produced podcast
💰 don’t hire expensive sound engineers
👔 easy to use
✋ no complicated audio editing software
⏱ 1-click publish
📈 built-in podcast distribution

📱 Podcorder is a powerful yet simple podcast recording app that offers complete A-Z recording, production and publishing features.
🙌 sound like a professionally produced podcast
⚡️ don’t hire expensive sound engineers
🔧 easy to use
👕 no complicated audio editing software
📣 1-click publish
🔬 built-in podcast distribution

💊 Podcorder is a powerful yet simple podcast recording app that offers complete A-Z recording, production and publishing features.
work like a professionally produced podcast
😎 don’t hire expensive sound engineers
😷 easy to use
🏆 no complicated audio editing software
📲 1-click publish
🌐 built-in podcast distribution
⌛️

So on my end, that’s a no. Sometimes it picks a pretty decent emoji, but many of these are totally random and unrelated.

Better Writing With AI?

Now they also have a bunch of writing tools that seemed interesting, like a simplify sentences tool:

And here are the results:

• It may be hard to remember, but Instagram didn’t even start as primarily a photo-sharing app: it was a photo-filter app focused on making photos look good on ancient iPhone cameras and posting them on other social networks. It was, to use Chris Dixon’s parlance, a tool that evolved into a network.
• It may be hard to remember now, but Instagram didn’t even start as primarily a photo-sharing app: it was a photo-filter app, focused on making photos look good on ancient iPhone cameras and posting them on other social networks. It was, using Chris Dixon’s terminology, a tool that evolved into a network.
• Instagram didn’t even start as primarily a photo-sharing app: it was a photo-filter app, focused on making photos look good on ancient iPhone cameras and posting them to other social networks. It was, to use Chris Dixon’s parlance, a tool that became a network.
• It may be hard to remember now, but Instagram didn’t even start as primarily a photo-sharing app: it was a photo-filter app, focused on making photos look good on ancient iPhone cameras and posting them on other social networks. It was a tool that evolved into a network.
• Instagram didn’t begin primarily as a photo-sharing app but rather a photo-filter app, focused on making photos look good on ancient iPhone cameras and posting them on other social networks. It was, to use Chris Dixon’s parlance, a tool that evolved into a network.
• It may be hard to remember now, but Instagram didn’t even start as primarily a photo-sharing app: it was a photo-filter app focused on making photos look good on ancient iPhone cameras. It was a tool that evolved into a network.
• It may be hard to remember now, but Instagram didn’t even start as primarily a photo-sharing app: it was a photo-filter app. It was, to use Chris Dixon’s parlance, a tool that evolved into a network.

So again, for me, that’s not useful. I think an editor that highlights phrases, grammatical constructions, certain words in the copy and makes suggestions or recommendations (like the Hemingway App, or Grammarly) would do a much better job here.

It’s a Wrap

There’s a long and extensive list of tools they offer for all kinds of use-cases, and I definitely haven’t tested many of them. The Pain-Agitate-Solution tool that gets presented at first was definitely the one I can see being most useful (probably also why they encourage new users to start with that). The other ones… made me quickly fall out of love with AI again.

Here’s a full list of tools:

• Most Popular
• Product Descriptions
• Instagram Captions
• Blog Ideas
• Bullet Point to Paragraph
• Bullet Points to Blog
• Product Descriptions
• Product Descriptions
  
• Social Ads
• Facebook Primary Text
• Facebook Listicle
• Facebook Headlines
• Facebook Link Descriptions
• Google Headlines
• Google Descriptions
• Instagram Product Showcase
• Instagram Captions
• Hashtags
• LinkedIn Text Ads
• General Ad Copy
• Ad Copy Variants
  
• Startup Tools
• Value Proposition
• Motto Generator
• Brand Mission
• Brand Voice
• Audience Refiner
  
• Website Copy
• Landing Page Hero Text
• Subheader Text
• Blog Ideas
• Blog Intros
• Blog Outline
• Bullet Point to Paragraph
• Bullet Points to Blog
• Blog Titles
• Blog Titles – Listicles
• Listicles
• Microcopy
• Meta Descriptions
• Event Copy
• Testimonial Rewriter
• Question Generator
• Social Proof Text
  
• Email/Letter
• Catchy Email Subject Lines
• Welcome Email
• Follow Up Email
• Confirmation Emails
• Thank You Note
• Cancellation Email

• Social Media Content Creation
• Video Titles
• Launch Your Product
• Short Text Hook
• Carousel Post
• Captions
• Video Intro Hook
• Relatable Experiences
• Brainstorm Topics
• Product Showcase
• Bullet Points
• Video Call to Action
• YouTube Description Intro
• Keyword Generator
• Add Emoji to List
  
• Sales Copy
• Pain-Agitate-Solution
• AIDA Copywriting
• Before-After-Bridge
• Feature-Advantage-Benefit
• Problem-Promise-Proof-Proposal
• QUEST Copywriting
• Feature to Benefit
• Marketing Angles

• Writing Tools
• Change Tone
• Sentence Rewriter
• Simplify Sentence
• Essay Outline
• Essay Intro
• Bullet Point to Paragraph
• Bullet Points to Essay
• Verb Booster
• Adjective Accelerator
• Analogy Generator
• Rewrite with Keywords
• Press Release Intros
• Two Sentence Stories
• Hero Story Intro
• Hero Story Villain
• Cliffhanger
• Explain In Plain English
• Passive to Active Voice
  
• Brainstorming Tools
• Viral Ideas
• Growth Ideas
• Next Product
• Name Generator
• Startup Ideas
  
• Personal Tools
• Shower Thoughts
• Cover Letter
• Resume Bullet Points
• Love Letter
• Mother’s Day
• Birthday Cards
• Clubhouse Bio

If they’d have a few more tools like the Pain-Agitate-Solution one (and maybe they do, but then they should probably highlight that better out of this long list of tools) I’d be interesting in experimenting more with it, but for now I guess it’ll be a few more years until it’s actually useful.