Generic SaaS products are commodities vulnerable to AI. A defensible moat is created by building a product that embodies a specific methodology or philosophy. Competitors can copy features but will always lag behind in understanding the 'why' driving the product's evolution.
AI-generated content feels generic because it lacks an individual perspective. To stand out, focus on personal experiences and thoughts ('I think this...') instead of rehashing common advice ('You should do this...'). This creates personality-driven content that can't be commoditized.
Don't use AI to do your thinking. Instead, build a library of your own crystallized ideas and approved language. Then, deploy AI as a tool to repeat and remix this content, freeing you to focus on developing net-new, original insights for your audience.
The value in writing about generic industry topics is to publicly declare your agreement or disagreement. This process builds your unique point of view and creates a 'personal language model' that clarifies your identity, which an AI can then use to generate content that aligns with your perspective.
Since language is effectively open source, you don't own most phrases you write. Real ownership in the digital world is about association. By consistently writing about a topic with a distinct personality and high volume, you make the audience associate that idea with you, which is a powerful form of ownership.
Audiences connect with people, not just credentials. A creator who shares their personal stories and unique worldview can build a stronger bond and larger audience than a more qualified but impersonal expert. Your 'mundane' life details are actually powerful differentiators.
Large language models are trained on the public internet. Your competitive edge is the 'unmade data set'—your unique life stories, mistakes, and lessons. Articulating these experiences creates a proprietary library of content that AI cannot replicate and instantly differentiates your work.
Aspiring writers often believe their lives are too boring to share. This is incorrect. Common life events, even ones that feel mundane to you because you lived them, are shared experiences that create resonance and connection with a new audience.
People connect with humans, not logos. The most effective brand content strategy is two-tiered: The founder builds their personal language model with commodity ideas and stories. The brand's channels then systematically repeat and amplify only the founder's approved commodity ideas.
Writing about many different topics prevents you from achieving the depth required for original thought. True originality emerges only after years of intense focus and crystallizing your perspective on a narrow subject. Breadth leads to commodity; depth leads to originality.
Don't wait to 'find' your voice. Voice is not a mystical quality but a combination of tangible, controllable elements: word choice (e.g., 'cool' vs. 'exquisite'), sentence length, and structure. By making conscious choices about these elements, you actively construct your voice.
The complaint 'I don't like my writing voice' is typically not about stylistic preferences but a manifestation of the fear of being judged. The solution isn't to find a new voice, but to overcome the hesitation to publish. The barrier is psychological, not technical.
Instead of focusing on distribution tactics, companies should invest in the 'input' for their marketing machine. This means hiring smart writers to do one thing: think deeply about the industry and build a library of original, long-form content. This 'company brain' then feeds the entire content supply chain.