Are AI generative programs useful productivity tools or existential threats to freelancers who work in the creative marketing space? By now, you’ve probably heard about AI tools such as Large Language Models such as ChatGPT and their art generating counterparts DALL-E and Midjourney. These tools are developing at such a blistering pace that even critics and journalists whose jobs revolve around keeping up and covering AI’s advancement have had a hard time keeping up. 

If you thought that ChatGPT and DALL-E were impressive, wait until you see Microsoft’s 365 Copilot generate entire excel sheets and powerpoint slides out of meeting notes, or wireframing tool Uizard creating fully functional web pages from hand-drawn sketches in seconds. On the surface, it seems like no creative freelancer operating in the digital space (that’s practically all of us!) is safe from the disruptive effects of AI. 

Will AI replace the jobs of creative freelancers?

The literal million dollar question on everyone’s mind is whether or not AI tools will replace creative jobs in marketing that have become the bread and butter of freelancers’ livelihoods. You may not like our answer, but the truth is: We don’t know. AI is still developing as we speak, and its impact will only be revealed to us as businesses acclimatise themselves to it over the next couple of months or even years.

What we can tell you, however, is that we’ve continued to see our project volume grow rapidly in recent years alongside AI development. Suffice to say, clients who have formed long-term relations and trust the quality of our freelancers aren’t replacing them with AI assistants yet. Having been exposed to the quality that professional copywriters, graphic designers, and video editors are capable of for more than a decade. We’re also confident that AI tools wielded in the hands of seasoned experts will produce far greater results compared to the layperson without the trained eye nor the experience to differentiate between good and bad content. 

If you need proof to convince you, check out this video, where self-proclaimed non-artist and YouTuber Cleo Abram pitted herself against a professional artist to find out if she could generate professional quality art pieces using DALLE-2. The results showed that even though DALLE-2 significantly lowered the barrier to entry into art, professionals still consistently generated work of superior quality under various circumstances and limitations. Suffice to say, most managers, C-suite executives, and CEOs who form the bulk of our clientele won’t be producing groundbreaking work anytime soon. They may attempt to use AI writing and graphic tools to supplement their content media pipelines, but we’re willing to bet that they’ll soon come crawling back to creative freelancers once they realise how same-y content can’t produce results.

How can creative freelancers protect their own jobs

But even as we march forward confidently, we also want to tread cautiously. The threat of AI is very real. As business owners ourselves, we know that all businesses operate on margins, and AI presents a massive opportunity to reduce their marketing team headcounts (freelancers included) by assigning one or two team leads with an entire suite of AI tools. So even if we understand our own value as marketing professionals, it only takes enough C-suite executives to tighten their budgets in favour of AI tools to disrupt the entire market. So if you’ve found yourself worrying about the future of your job security over the past few months, we want to assure and affirm that your reaction is completely normal. 

Barring a freak accident, AI is not going away. The next best thing that creative freelancers can do to give themselves the best chance of surviving is by adapting to the 4th Industrial Revolution. Over the past few months, we’ve been #HardAtWork, exploring the possibilities of various AI tools, weaving them into our workflow, and recommending them to our freelancers. Here are some of the tolls that we believe can help ordinary freelancers serve more clients, generate higher quality content, and ultimately transform into super freelancers in an AI-dominated landscape.

Increase productivity by automating time-consuming tasks

As a freelancer, you don’t need us to tell you that time = money. You’re probably also familiar with the feeling of drowning in invoices, emails, and excel spreadsheets that steal time that could be spent on money-making commissions instead.

With that in mind, we’re starting off our list of AI productivity tool recommendations with things far less exciting than generative tools. As the saying goes, do what you do best, outsource the rest. Don’t underestimate the amount of time and headspace that you can gain by guarding your most valuable asset when you take a few moments to learn how to use the following tools:

• Email management tools: Minutes spent combing through your emails in search of documents and older discussions buried under spam can burn hours and even entire business days from your schedule. Our go-to AI email assistants are x.ai and Clara, which have done wonders for our productivity by scheduling meetings and filtering spam on our behalf. If you’re constantly sorting through digital clutter, you need an AI email assistant today.
• Social media scheduling: Remembering to post on multiple social media channels several times a day is essential for building a personal brand and attracting your dream client, but also a disruptive task that can interrupt your creative flow. Instead of relying on jarring reminders, create social media posts in advance and schedule them for later with tools like Buffer and Hootsuite. The best part is that these tools come with built in algorithms that analyse audience response and suggest optimal timings for posts to go live.
• Data entry and organisation: If you’re still keying in data points into Excel sheets one by one in 2023, you’re falling behind your competitors by the second. Use data management platforms like Airtable and Smartsheet today (not sponsored). You can thank us later via email once you’ve cut your to-do list in half. 

Enhance your marketing copy with content writing tools

Copywriting tends to be an underestimated skill, but what people don’t realise is that copy is needed for literally everything. More than a bunch of words used to fill up white space, every piece of copy presents an opportunity to convince readers of your authority, expertise, and ultimately make a purchase for you. So whether you’re looking to create a portfolio website, start posting on social media, or generate a newsletter, keying in generic prompts into ChatGPT and reposting word salads will by no means be a formula for success.

With that out of the way, let us let you in on an industry secret. Even the best copywriters have been using AI tools for the longest time. Autocorrect is a prime example of how AI can help weed out tedious elements of the writing process. Using AI to help your original ideas shine isn’t a cheat, but a must-have writing tool if you wish to get ahead in this hypercompetitive environment.

• Grammar and style checkers: Grammarly and ProWritingAid take autocorrect to the next level by providing alternative style suggestions for certain words and phrases to help you sound more professional, approachable, or whatever other persona fits your business. It’s the perfect way to switch things up or give an uninspired piece of content a boost.
• Content idea generators: Even the best copywriters inevitably run into the dreaded writer’s block. Tools such as Kuki.ai and ShortlyAI can help get those creative juices flowing by generating content ideas, outlines, and article drafts based on your input and chosen keywords. You don’t necessarily have to use the output, but glancing over new ideas may be all you need to get out of that creative rut. 

Stay productive and smash deadlines with AI project management tools

Repeat after me. Project management IS an essential skill to freelancing success. If you wish to grow your freelance business from one or two trusted clients into a consistent stream of incoming projects, you’ll eventually reach a point where you have to juggle multiple clients with competing deadlines all at once. 

Instead of writing everything down on a notebook or post-it that you might eventually misplace, let AI do the organisational heavy lifting for you so that you can focus on collaborating with clients and delivering the best value possible. Some of the AI-powered project management tools that we’ve tried out ourselves to great success include:

• Task prioritisation: Platforms like Trello and Asana are popular for good reason. They give you an overview of your entire to-do list at a glance, complete with deadlines, priority markers, and clients so that you’re always two steps ahead of your workload.
• Resource allocation: The aforementioned tools also double as collaboration platforms by allowing every individual on a team to track a project’s progress, making collaboration between multiple freelancers and clients a breeze by giving them a rundown of what needs to get done next.

Stay ahead of the skill curve with AI learning platforms

Don’t make the mistake of throwing learning out the window. AI may have the ability to learn faster than us, but that doesn’t mean that we don’t need domain experts who are capable of combining knowledge between disparate fields. Niching down is literally how creative freelancers can charge more for individual projects that lie within their expertise. Every toolset in your repertoire does not standalone, but rather compounds on knowledge and skills that you already have. So whatever you do, don’t stop learning. 

• Personalised learning platforms: Udemy and Coursera suggest courses that fit your career development needs by tapping into AI algorithms. There’s nothing really revolutionary about this tech, but we thought that it’d be a good reminder of how old tools can still be gold.
• AI-based skill assessment tools: If you’re not sure whether skills that you’ve learned are up to scratch yet, platforms like Pluralsight and LinkedIn Skill Assessments can not only provide you with a rough progress gauge, but also offer recommended learning paths to help you move forward. Of course, don’t get stuck in tutorial hell. Sometimes, you have to take the leap of faith and put your skills to the test on actual client projects.

Keep your business profitable with AI financial tracking tools

Financial forecasting is key to ensuring that your freelance business stays profitable months and even years from now. Now, we understand that not every creative freelancer has the financial know-how to manage their bankroll, but that’s where AI-driven analytical tools step in. Through provided insights, you too can make informed decisions on how to allocate your marketing and equipment dollars so that your business hits that sweet spot between profits and expenditure. 

• Financial forecasting: Monitor your cash flow trends with tools like QuickBooks and Xero to receive data-based indicators of your financial health instead of relying on inaccurate measurements (your intuition doesn’t count).
• Marketing analytics: This goes without saying if you work in marketing, but if you’re not analysing your own marketing efforts with Google Analytics and SEMrush like you do for your clients, then you may be spending time and effort in vain. Be sure to check your own marketing results periodically to make sure that you’re on the right track.

Thrive in the age of AI with like-minded freelancers

At the end of the day, AI tools can only enhance abilities that are already there. If you wish to truly upgrade your skill set, diversify your offerings, and break into new horizons, there’s nothing else that is quite as effective as collaborating with other like-minded freelancers with experience across industries that you may not even have heard of. 

Unlock your true potential by joining the Freelancer Nation where you’ll always have like-minded freelancers and creatives navigating this brave new world by your side.

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