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Hi Reader,

Last week, an interesting conversation came up during a coworking session at The Reach.

One of our members, a web designer, shared how AI-powered website builders have changed her business. People used to hire her to create their first websites. Now, with so many affordable DIY tools available, she's rethinking her target market and how her business needs to evolve.

Which got us talking about a pretty big question: What are clients actually paying creative professionals for in the age of AI?

AI has made it easier than ever to create things. But has it made it any easier to figure out what we should be creating in the first place?

You can ask Claude to develop a marketing strategy, critique your website or brainstorm a new brand identity. Within seconds, you'll have pages of recommendations, ideas, and next steps.

Great! Now what?

Which recommendations should you follow? Which make sense for your business? Where do you start?

More information doesn't necessarily lead to better decisions.

I've experienced this firsthand on a recent client project.

I used to tell clients that when it came to sharing inspiration and reference materials, more was more. Give me everything you've got!

But with AI churning out seemingly endless research and recommendations, I'm starting to rethink that advice.

I've found myself using AI to make sense of information AI generated in the first place. Somewhere along the way, important context gets lost, and that information starts creating more problems than it solves.

A website, for example, is a sales tool. Not an encyclopedia. It doesn’t need to communicate everything there is to know about a business. It needs to communicate the right things to the right people so they feel confident taking the next step.

Knowing what to include, what to leave out and what to prioritize takes judgment, experience and an understanding of what works.

And I think that's where things get interesting for creative solopreneurs.

As AI takes on more of the execution, I think there’s an opportunity for creative service providers to lean further into the role of guide/coach. To help clients make sense of their options, decide what matters, and bring their ideas to life.

But valuable expertise and convincing someone to pay for it are two different things.

So how do we make the case? Show the receipts.

When you can demonstrate the impact of your past work, you give clients a compelling reason to trust your judgment, especially when AI is making it easier than ever to produce the deliverables themselves.

And maybe that's something we need to get better at communicating. When we sell five website pages, for example, how much are we talking about the thinking and experience behind them, or the business goals they support?

I'm thinking about this as I consider how my own services might evolve.

I'm curious: How has AI changed what your clients expect from you, or how you're thinking about the services you offer?

Hit reply and let me know.

’Til next time!

Big (virtual) hugs,

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Jasmine Williams Media is a company founded and primarily operating within the ancestral, traditional and unceded territories of many nations, including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples, also known as Toronto, Canada. This land is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples.