Artificial Intelligence in publishing: Showcase the value of a human editor on your website

alisonproofreader
Oct 15
3 min read

Updated: Oct 16

Artificial Intelligence in publishing: Showcase the value of a human editor on your website

I attended the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading conference recently and some of the topics discussed included the use of AI. One webinar in particular was very interesting:

I, Human. How to use your website to showcase the value of a human editor by Debbie Emmitt. (www.debbie-emmitt.com)

Here is what I learnt during the webinar.

Does it matter whether or not your target clients know you're made of flesh and blood? Yes

Why show you're human?

Rise above the competition from AI

As human editors, we need to:

set ourselves apart from AI tools
reassure potential clients that their words will be worked on by a human, not AI
show the benefits of working with a human
make ourselves findable to clients who don't want to use AI.

Build trust and credibility

Building a relationship with a client is not possible for AI, so engage with your target audience and make a human connection. Showing you're human will:

create a rapport
reassure potential clients that their questions are being answered
demonstrate value for money, as humans will spend a lot of time and use their experience and training.

Educate potential clients/Spread the word

There are limitations to using AI editing tools and people may not be aware of them if outside the editing industry, so we can educate them through:

Education changes the world written on a locker

blog posts
services pages
the quality and uniqueness of our web content
clarifying our services so they know how much is involved in a human edit.

AI tools do not understand the information they're processing or the difference between facts and incorrect information. An example of this is in the AI overview in Google, where it explained that you can stop cheese from sliding off your pizza by using glue. Fancy a glue pizza?

How to show you're human

Show yourself

Photos of yourself on your website (home, about and contact pages)
Credentials (real-world experience you can prove with evidence)
Be easily contactable (links in header, footer, contact page)

Be unique

One red flower stood out against yellow flowers

Specialise/niche (clients see you as a specialist in that area)
Establish your own brand to show your human personality
Draw on your 'previous life' to show your uniqueness, even if not linked to your current role

Show that you are in demand and provide social proof

Display testimonials (if buying a product, clients always read the reviews before buying)
Prove the value of your offering by drawing on data from previous clients and showing you are in demand
Highlight your body of work with a portfolio (images of previous projects) or statistics (show your human side by joking about how much cake you eat while working)
Share 'star' clients (human stories)
Show your (un)availability (shows you are worth waiting for)

“Celebrate your value as a human editor. Your uniqueness is your super power.” by Debbie Emmitt

After the webinar, I have made a list of actions that I would like to work on so my website can rise above the competition from AI:

Add a link to my directory page on the CIEP website to prove my credentials
Add a photo of myself to my contact page
Add visuals of my recent projects to show my real-life experience
Add my editing statistics to show my experience

Hopefully, the information about how to use your website to showcase the value of a human editor from the webinar has been interesting. What would you plan to improve on your website?

I am a freelance proofreader and a qualified teacher with a maths degree and a love of learning. Thank you for reading 'Artificial Intelligence in publishing: Showcase the value of a human editor on your website'. Want to find out about Artificial Intelligence in publishing?