Hello friends,
Why you're getting this: I'm sharing some tools and approaches we use at Sidetool. I think you'll find them useful.
Zero pressure to stick around, just click unsubscribe if this isn't for you.
Here's what I've been working with lately:
WisprFlow
For the last few weeks, I’ve been using this app.
WisprFlow.
You just press the fn key (or whatever)
and It turns your voice into text using AI.
Well written and no grammar or spelling mistakes text.
Until now, I hadn’t realized how much friction goes into writing.
It’s that easy
Even if you want to, the words in your mind don’t come out the same as text.
They lose some of their essence in that translation.
Spoken words and written words are expected to be different, people reading tend to expect certain things.
and that’s where WisprFlow can make you different.
This app can give your readers the feeling that they’re having a conversation with someone, rather than reading some text.
that makes the reader feel special
It’s also much faster than writing.
I’m a pretty fast keyboard writer myself, but with WisprFlow it’s just way way faster.
I’ve been using it for:
Text messages.
Obviously.
Real helpful to send long messages we’re too lazy to write.
Notes to myself.
THE BEST.
It’s just really nice to be able to think out loud without worrying about saving it.
Quick emails.
Short replies that don't need formatting. Much faster than typing on my phone.
you can try it here: https://wisprflow.ai/r?ED12
I hate being on camera, so I did this.
I’m terrible on camera.
I don’t like being in front of one,
makes me nervous.
but I know short-form content works, I know it could change everything for our business.
so we found a solution
AI Avatars.
We’ve been experimenting with that for a while now,
and it’s working better than we thought.
We use HeyGen for the face, ElevenLabs for the voice.
and it's not like you probably think.
I’m pretty sure you won’t know which is AI
The avatar shows up 3-4 seconds per video. The rest is on us.
It won’t cook your food like that Neo robot scammy thing.
We still need good stories, we still need to understand what our audience needs, we still need editing and writing.
We work those videos the hell out
This is how we do it:
Write the newsletter content.
This is the hard part. The story, the insight, the structure.
Convert to script.
Adapt it for spoken content. Shorter sentences. More rhythm.
Generate avatar with HeyGen.
3-4 seconds only. Just enough to establish presence.
Voice with ElevenLabs.
Do this separately, not through HeyGen's integration. Higher quality.
and people get it.
We are an AI company using AI to help our content.
You can try it here: https://www.heygen.com/
see for yourself.
but I wouldn’t say this is for everybody.
If you are comfortable with a camera,
just use it.
Everyone loves a human non-AI face.
Unless using AI helps your brand (like our case), you should use a camera if you are comfortable with it.
but, if you’re not a camera confident person
like me
then an AI Avatar may be good for you.
Some cases where this really works:
Multi-language content.
One recording becomes four languages without four recording sessions. Pretty sweet.
Testing video before committing.
Try the format with the avatar, if you like it you can use your camera.
When you're already known for AI
Like us. It's on-brand.
Some cases where you shouldn't do this:
You're good on camera
Just use that advantage. Don't overthink it.
Your brand is about authenticity
If it’s off brand, maybe you shouldn’t do it.
You're not willing to do the work
This doesn’t appear from thin air, you have to do the work.
this works.
but you have to put effort into the content you make,
or at least you should.
AI should serve us to make good valuable content, not slop.
It’s about removing the friction.
Both of these tools do the same thing:
They remove friction from something.
If you’ve been thinking about brand building, try AI Avatars.
If you want to share your thoughts, notes and reflections easier, try Wispr Flow.
see you next week,
-Ed
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