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Module 5 For Small Business intermediate 50 min

Run the Business

Systematize the back office. Keep the brand voice.

Content in Your Voice: Social, Email, and a Service Page

Marketing is the thing that slips when the work gets busy, and then the pipeline goes quiet. You need social posts, an email to your list, and clear service-page copy, all sounding like you and not like a robot. AI drafts the whole batch from your context. You keep the brand voice, the claims you can back, and the final say.

Recommended tool

claude

Strong at holding a brand voice across a batch of posts, an email, and web copy in one pass. Gemini is a good alternative if you want drafts to sit next to Gmail and Google tools.

Bring to the exercise

  • What you want to talk about (an offer, a recent win, a season, a tip)
  • Your brand voice and the words and claims you will and will not use
  • Your Business Context Document
  • A past post or email that sounded like you (as a style example)
Step 1

Teach It Your Voice

Lock your brand voice and your honesty rules before any drafting.

What to substitute before pasting

  • [PASTE YOUR BUSINESS CONTEXT DOCUMENT] Your 11-field Context Document so the content fits your business.
  • [PASTE A PAST POST OR EMAIL IN YOUR VOICE] Something you wrote that sounded like you, so AI can match your voice.
I am a small business owner. I want content in MY voice, not generic marketing-speak. Confirm these rules first:
- Match my voice from the example I give you.
- Make no claims, promises, results, or guarantees I did not give you.
- No hype words I would never say. No fake urgency.
- I have final say on every word before it is published.

Here is my Business Context Document:
[PASTE YOUR BUSINESS CONTEXT DOCUMENT]

Here is a past post or email that sounded like me:
[PASTE A PAST POST OR EMAIL IN YOUR VOICE]

Tell me, in a few lines, what you hear in my voice. Do not draft anything yet.
What good output looks like
  • Describes your actual voice, not a generic brand tone.
  • Accepts the no-hype, no-fake-claims rules.

Verify before using AI's output

Step 2

Draft the Social Posts

Get a batch of short posts in your voice, ready to schedule.

What to substitute before pasting

  • [YOUR TOPIC: an offer, a recent win, a seasonal angle, a useful tip] What you want to post about this week.
Here is what I want to talk about right now:
[YOUR TOPIC: an offer, a recent win, a seasonal angle, a useful tip]

Draft 5 short social posts in my voice:
- A mix: one tip, one recent win or proof, one soft offer, one behind-the-scenes, one question to my audience
- Each ready to post, no hashtags-stuffing
- Mark any spot where I should add a [PHOTO] or a [SPECIFIC DETAIL]

Only claims I can back. Plain text.
What good output looks like
  • Five distinct posts in your voice, not five versions of the same one.
  • [PHOTO] and [SPECIFIC DETAIL] spots marked.

Verify before using AI's output

Step 3

Write the Email Newsletter

Turn the topic into one email your list will actually read.

Write one short email newsletter to my customer list in my voice:
- A subject line that earns the open without clickbait
- A warm, useful body (one main idea, not a wall of text)
- One clear call to action
- A [FIRST NAME] spot and a [SPECIFIC DETAIL] spot

Keep it the length of something I would actually read. No hype. Plain text.
What good output looks like
  • A non-clickbait subject line and a short, warm body.
  • One clear call to action, personalization spots marked.

Verify before using AI's output

Step 4

Write the Service-Page Copy

Produce clear, trustworthy copy for one service or offer.

Write service-page copy for one of my offers, in my voice:
- A headline that says plainly what I do and for whom
- A short paragraph on the problem I solve
- What is included (only what I actually offer)
- Why me (only the real reasons)
- A clear next step

No invented features, prices, or guarantees. Leave price as [PRICE] for me. Plain language.
What good output looks like
  • A plain, trustworthy page about one offer.
  • Price left as a placeholder, no invented features.

Verify before using AI's output

Step 5

Voice and Honesty Check

Catch anything off-brand, hype-y, or overstated across the whole batch.

Read the whole batch (posts, email, service page) as a regular customer who knows my business.

Where does it sound like a robot or a marketer instead of me? Where did it overstate, hype, or promise something I cannot back?

Fix the wording. Flag any claim I need to verify or soften.
What good output looks like
  • Flags off-voice and overstated lines.
  • Lists claims for you to verify or soften.

Verify before using AI's output

Step 6

Publish Checklist (manual)

Walk the manual gate before anything goes public.

Walk this checklist by hand before publishing any of this:

[ ] Every claim, result, and promise is true and mine.
[ ] No hype words or fake urgency I would never use.
[ ] Prices and offers filled in by ME, double-checked.
[ ] [PHOTO], [FIRST NAME], and [SPECIFIC DETAIL] spots filled in.
[ ] It sounds like me, not a marketing bot.
[ ] I am the one hitting publish, not AI.

If any box is unchecked, do not publish that piece.
What good output looks like
  • You can check every box honestly.
  • Every claim is one you can back.

Verify before using AI's output

Tame the Admin: Notes, SOPs, and Intake

The back office is where the hours quietly disappear: meeting notes that never become action items, the same task done a little differently every time, a new-customer intake that depends on whoever is at the desk. AI turns a messy recording into action items, writes the SOP, and builds a clean intake, fast. The team keeps the judgment about what is right for the business.

Recommended tool

claude

Strong at turning messy notes into clean action items and writing a runnable SOP. If your notes are a long recording transcript or a stack of documents, read them in NotebookLM first, then organize in Claude.

Bring to the exercise

  • Raw meeting or call notes (names redacted to "Customer A," "Owner")
  • A recurring task you want to run the same way every time
  • What a good customer intake or onboarding should capture
  • Your Business Context Document
Step 1

Turn Messy Notes into Action Items

Pull clear owners and next steps out of raw notes, nothing invented.

Confidentiality Guardrail: Read Before Pasting
  • Use role labels, not real names (for example: the client, a partner, the team).
  • Strip identifying details, signed dollar values, account numbers, and anything that re-identifies a person or organization.
  • Confirm the AI tool you are pasting into is approved for this kind of information.
  • You, not the AI, own the final product. AI cannot invent facts.

Use the PII Redactor tool to scrub before pasting.

What to substitute before pasting

  • [PASTE YOUR BUSINESS CONTEXT DOCUMENT] Your 11-field Context Document.
  • [PASTE RAW NOTES] Your meeting or call notes, with real customer and staff names removed.
Here is my Business Context Document:
[PASTE YOUR BUSINESS CONTEXT DOCUMENT]

Here are my raw notes from a meeting or call (names redacted to "Owner," "Customer A," "Team"):
[PASTE RAW NOTES]

Pull out:
- Decisions made
- Action items (what, who owns it, by when if stated)
- Open questions

Use only what is in the notes. If an owner or a date was not stated, mark it as TBD. Do not invent it.
What good output looks like
  • Decisions, action items with owners, and open questions, all clean.
  • Unstated owners or dates marked TBD, not guessed.

Verify before using AI's output

Step 2

Capture the Task As You Actually Do It

Get the real, messy version of a recurring task on the page before improving it.

What to substitute before pasting

  • [NAME AND ROUGHLY DESCRIBE THE TASK, HOWEVER MESSY] The repeatable task (invoicing, scheduling, onboarding, restocking) in whatever order it actually happens.
Here is a recurring task I want to run the same way every time:
[NAME AND ROUGHLY DESCRIBE THE TASK, HOWEVER MESSY]

Ask me clarifying questions, then play it back to me as a numbered list of steps. Do not improve it yet. Just capture how it really happens.
What good output looks like
  • Plays your real process back accurately.
  • Asks before assuming any step.

Verify before using AI's output

Step 3

Write the SOP

Turn the captured task into a one-page SOP anyone on the team could follow.

Turn that task into a one-page SOP anyone on the team could follow the same way every time:
- Numbered steps in plain language
- What "done right" looks like at each step
- Where a human must check before moving on (especially anything touching money or a customer promise)

Keep it short enough to fit on one page.
What good output looks like
  • A short, runnable SOP a new hire could follow.
  • Human checks called out where money or customer promises are involved.

Verify before using AI's output

Step 4

Build the Customer Intake

Create a consistent intake or onboarding so nothing falls through.

Confidentiality Guardrail: Read Before Pasting
  • Use role labels, not real names (for example: the client, a partner, the team).
  • Strip identifying details, signed dollar values, account numbers, and anything that re-identifies a person or organization.
  • Confirm the AI tool you are pasting into is approved for this kind of information.
  • You, not the AI, own the final product. AI cannot invent facts.

Use the PII Redactor tool to scrub before pasting.

What to substitute before pasting

  • [DESCRIBE WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW UP FRONT] What you need from a new customer before work starts (scope, deadlines, contacts, access, preferences).
Here is what a good new-customer intake should capture for my business:
[DESCRIBE WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW UP FRONT]

Build a clean intake:
- The questions to ask a new customer, in order
- What we do with each answer
- A short internal onboarding checklist for the team

Plain language. Flag any question that would collect sensitive info (payment details, ID numbers) so we handle it safely outside AI.
What good output looks like
  • An ordered intake plus an internal onboarding checklist.
  • Sensitive-info questions flagged to handle outside AI.

Verify before using AI's output

Step 5

Stress-Test the System

Find where the SOP and intake break on a weird customer or a busy day.

Where will this SOP and intake break on a non-standard customer or a slammed day?

Which step is most likely to get skipped, and what is the human catch for it? What did I forget?

List these as questions. Do not add steps as if I already wrote them.
What good output looks like
  • Names real failure points, not generic ones.
  • Pairs each risk with a human catch.

Verify before using AI's output

Step 6

Put-It-To-Work Checklist (manual)

Walk the manual gate before the team runs on these.

Confidentiality Guardrail: Read Before Pasting
  • Use role labels, not real names (for example: the client, a partner, the team).
  • Strip identifying details, signed dollar values, account numbers, and anything that re-identifies a person or organization.
  • Confirm the AI tool you are pasting into is approved for this kind of information.
  • You, not the AI, own the final product. AI cannot invent facts.

Use the PII Redactor tool to scrub before pasting.

Walk this checklist by hand before the team starts using these:

[ ] The action items match what was actually decided.
[ ] The SOP reflects how we really work, not an idealized version.
[ ] Money and customer-promise steps have a human check.
[ ] The intake captures everything we need to start a job.
[ ] Sensitive info (payment, ID numbers) is handled outside AI.
[ ] No real customer or staff names were pasted into AI.

If any box is unchecked, fix it before you rely on it.
What good output looks like
  • You can check every box honestly.
  • Sensitive info stays out of AI.

Verify before using AI's output