The AI Content Crisis

Companies across the globe are using AI to create content faster than ever. But there's a problem: it all sounds the same. Generic. Soulless. Forgettable.

  • AI-generated content lacks personality and authentic brand voice. It reads like it was written by a committee of robots—because it was.

  • AI excels at information but fails at storytelling. Your content needs structure, tension, and emotional arc to truly engage readers.

  • Customers don't buy from algorithms—they buy from humans. Your AI content isn't connecting because it's missing the human element.

I don't replace your AI tools—I make them infinitely more powerful. With 20+ years of award-winning journalism and storytelling expertise, I transform robotic AI output into compelling narratives that actually move people.

A good story is a place to belong.

ChatGPT can’t do that.

I can.

 

MY PAST WORK

Mentor Sacramento — a complete narrative creation, content strategy and series of videos.

Mobius Risk Group — An overhaul of the company’s brand. Created the new tagline and wrote all of the copy for a website refresh.

Nimble Distribution — crafted the brand story for this new cannabis distribution company.

Ratio Coffee Makers — Reworked the company’s brand narrative.

Spark Grills — Crafted the pre-launch brand story.

Frogsong Farm — Created the organic hemp company’s brand narrative, wrote origin story.

Center for Retail Leadership — Created a new brand story: “The Proving Ground.”

“Winston helped our company develop a surprisingly effective media strategy at a critical time. He has a unique approach that’s based on a reporter’s understanding of how serious press coverage is actually generated, and it works wonders.”
— Mowgli Holmes, founder, Phylos Bioscience

In 20 years, Winston Ross worked his way from an internship at a tiny newspaper in Alabama to senior writer at Newsweek Magazine, all in pursuit of a good yarn. There are hundreds of reporters in America who understand the basic tenets of journalism. What sets apart the good from the great is identifying an approach to storytelling that weaves together a compelling origin saga and a company or organization’s value proposition, so that the two are in concert.

““Winston is more than a good writer: he understands how storytelling skills can be monetized. His work gave us a coherent and memorable way to communicate with customers, which had a direct impact on conversions.” ”
— Mark Hellweg, Found, Ratio Coffee

 The Business Case for Narrative

Since the Agricultural Revolution, humans have wielded the power of mythology — of story — to connect big groups of people.

There is no more powerful tool in business than story.

Companies that understand this build brands that inspire loyalty. And yet, in the modern company, story is often an afterthought. CEOs focus on runway, ROI, sales, growth. Marketing directors focus on clicks, conversion, SEO. PR companies focus on press releases, schmoozing.

Without a compelling, engaging foundation, nobody cares.

Most marketing agencies don’t get story because their executives and associates weren’t trained in it. Same with most public relations firms. So they go for “branding,” for fonts, colors, vibe. They issue press releases that dress up nothingburgers as news.

What differentiates a 10-cent-a-word copywriter from a brand storyteller and content strategist is vision. It’s magic. It’s the ability to take in a volume of data, some practical and some biographical, and weave it into a Hero’s Journey, laced with riveting turning point after turning point, until a salivating reader finally gets the payoff: the “ah hah!” moment that inspired the creation of your company.

WHAT WE DO

  • Story Ideation: In a series of interviews, we reveal turning points, ‘ah hah!’ moments, a ‘why?’ that engages the audience. 

  •  Content strategy: Content is king. Too often, it is an afterthought. We create high-level strategy and the content itself, from blog posts to videos.  

  • Communication strategy: Our approach is the product of 20 years’ in journalism and an understanding of how editors think.

mthood.jpg
Margo_Shoot_09022020_0086.jpg

Better Told Founder Winston Ross is an award-winning journalist with 20 years of experience; 13 in newspapers and seven at national magazines and top online sites, including Newsweek, Time, People, The Daily Beast and The Washington Post.

For a sample of his recent work, visit winstonross.wordpress.com.