How to Turn Messy Drafts into Engaging Blog Posts with ChatGPT
Learn how to turn messy drafts into engaging blog posts with ChatGPT. Use AI as your edit and coach rather than outsourcing your perspective and creativity.
If you’ve ever worried that using AI to write your content will leave you with bland, generic posts that don’t sound like you, you’re not alone. In fact, according to HubSpot’s 2024 State of Generative AI, 60% of marketers using generative AI are concerned about potential harm to their brand's reputation due to issues like bias, plagiarism, or misalignment with brand values.
And they’re not wrong to be cautious.
AI-written articles often feel “off”. They’re overly polished, lack depth, and follow predictable patterns that make them easy to spot. Worse still, they fail to connect with your audience on a human level.
But here’s the good news: AI doesn’t have to replace your voice. When used correctly, it can actually help you refine your drafts, strengthen your message, and produce content that feels authentically yours.
Should you let AI write your articles?
The short answer? No.
Fully automated workflows (like the one Simon Høiberg explains in this video) work incredibly well for SEO-driven content at scale, but they aren’t the right choice if you’re building a personal brand.
Your content isn’t just about sharing information. It’s about building trust and offering a perspective only you can provide. If you let AI write your posts from start to finish, you risk sounding generic and losing that personal connection. The internet is flooded with articles sharing information about any topic. Your readers want your unique perspective, your tone, and your unique insight.
But using AI is not the same as having AI write your content.
How to use ChatGPT as your content editor
Think of AI as your editor and coach. Rather than outsourcing your perspective, use ChatGPT to:
Identify strengths and weaknesses in your draft
Refine your voice and clarity
Spot gaps in depth or data
Suggest SEO opportunities
For example, here’s a before-and-after snippet for one of the paragraphs I used in this article in the section above about letting AI write your articles:
Draft: Generally the answer is no. You could achieve great results with fully automated n8n workflows, like Simon Høiberg explains in this video, but this approach is SEO driven rather than creative driven.
After AI refinement: The short answer? No. Fully automated workflows (like the one Simon Høiberg explains in this video) work incredibly well for SEO-driven content at scale, but they aren’t the right choice if you’re building a personal brand.
The result is more conversational and adds clarity.
The 9 key criteria to evaluate your drafts
To get better results from ChatGPT, we first need to define how we want AI to critique our draft.
With the help of ChatGPT, I came up with nine areas to critique every post:
Title/Hook – Does the title grab attention and include target keywords?
Introduction – Does it clearly set the stage and connect with the reader?
Value – Does the content solve a problem or offer actionable insights?
Readability – Is the post scannable with headers, bullets, and short paragraphs?
Depth – Does it include credible data, sources, or expert quotes?
Storytelling & Voice – Is the tone human, engaging, and unique?
SEO & Technical Optimisation – Are keywords, internal links, and metadata optimised?
Engagement – Are there CTAs, social prompts, or comment invitations?
Publishing Readiness – Is it free of errors and fully formatted?
Each category will be rated from 0-100%. I’m using 80% as my benchmark for each category. This prevents me from chasing perfection and wasting time over-editing.
Putting it all together
You can get creative with your prompt and adjust the criteria to fit your needs. For example, if you’re writing a thought-provoking essay, the value metric might prioritise unique insights over actionable steps.
To make it easier, I built a custom GPT article reviewer that uses these exact criteria. You can plug in your draft, and it will return a detailed breakdown of strengths, weaknesses, and improvement tips.
Alternatively, you can find the entire prompt in this Google Doc if you want to use it as inspiration to write your own or modify in any way you want.
What about you?
How are you using AI in your creative process? Have you found a way to balance efficiency and authenticity? Leave a comment below. I’d love to hear your approach.
Love the 9 steps, especially the hook.