Don't Build a Ghost Ship: Why AI Personalization Matters.
I Just Spent 2 Hours Arguing With a Robot.
I didn't want it to write a "good" article. I wanted it to write a Robert article.
I was building my new "About Me" page. I could have just asked ChatGPT: "Write a bio for an affiliate marketer."
If I had done that, it would have given me the same vanilla, corporate fluff it gives everyone else: "Unlock your potential... financial freedom... synergy..." 🤮
Instead, I fed it my scars.
I told it about the freezing cold nights on the fishing boat in 2008.
I told it about the gut-punch of the Google Panda crash in 2011.
I told it that I used to be a Meat Inspector, so I don't "guess," I "inspect."
The result?
It didn't write a generic bio. It wrote a Manifesto. It captured my voice, my grit, and my mission.
This brings us to the single most important question in 2025:
Why Does AI Personalization Matter in Affiliate Marketing?
The internet is currently being flooded by "Ghost Ships."
These are websites built by lazy affiliates who copy-paste generic AI content. They look like ships. They float like ships. But when a visitor climbs aboard, they realize there is no one at the wheel.
There is no soul. No story. No human connection.
And what do visitors do on a Ghost Ship? They jump off.
AI Personalization matters because Trust is the only currency left.
Google knows the difference between "Information" (which is cheap) and "Experience" (which is gold). If your content sounds like a Wikipedia entry, you are invisible. If your content sounds like a Conversation, you are a brand.
How I "Infect" the AI With My DNA
I don't let the AI be the Author. I am the Author. The AI is just the Typist.
Here is the "OrGainIt" secret to personalization:
1. Don't Prompt for Content; Prompt for Persona.
Before I ask for a single word of blog content, I spend 10 minutes "loading" the AI. I give it my backstory. I tell it: "You are not a helpful assistant. You are a salty sea captain who hates get-rich-quick schemes."
2. The "Iron Sharpens Iron" Rule.
If the AI gives me a sentence that sounds too smooth, I delete it. Real life isn't smooth. Real life has friction. I force the AI to use gritty metaphors—engines, storms, blueprints—because that is who I am.
3. Your Scars are Your SEO.
Google wants E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trust). You cannot fake Experience. You have to feed your specific memories into the AI so it can weave them into the text.
The Captain's Challenge
Stop trying to hide the fact that you use AI. Instead, use AI to amplify who you actually are.
If you are a funny mom from Texas, make the AI sound like a funny mom from Texas.
If you are a retired engineer (like me), make the AI sound like a retired engineer.
Don't build a Ghost Ship.
Take the wheel.
Be blessed in success folks.
Keep the water flowing.
Robert "OrGainIt" Lees
The AI Affiliate Captain
Discussion:
When you read AI content, can you tell if "no one is home"? How are you injecting YOUR voice into your posts? Let's chat below! 👇
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Recent Comments
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Great message here Robert(Captain).
I 100% agree with this line of yours, “I don't let the AI be the Author. I am the Author. The AI is just the Typist.”
Like you said, “real life isn’t smooth.” I think people can tell right away when something is too good to be true.
For me, playing guitar has been a major part of my life since age 15. It didn’t turn into my career but remains a hobby that I’ll never retire from. At 56, I still love playing just as much as I did as a teen. Hopefully, this comes across as genuine within my guitar blog.
You've got the coordinates exactly right, Steve. Appreciate you sharing that.
That guitar story is the perfect analogy. That's not just a hobby, mate; that's your E-E-A-T in its purest form. The calluses on your fingers from playing since you were 15... the specific way you hold a chord... the stories behind the songs you love... an AI can't fake that.
When you write for your guitar blog, you're not just describing wood and strings. You're sharing 41 years of passion. That's what Google calls 'experience,' and it's what your readers will trust.
That's the soul of the ship. Keep that at the forefront, and you'll never be a Ghost Ship. ⚓
Cheers, PWhittaker. Glad it helped clarify things.
The 'why' behind it is simple: the ocean is getting foggy. I mean literally the Worlds dumpling ground lol. Sunken ships, World Wars waist, Plastic and a lot of other contaminants we don't know about...
The internet is about to be flooded with generic, soulless AI content. It's going to be harder than ever to be heard. The only way to cut through that fog is with a bright, unique signal.
Our personal stories, our unique voice... that's our lighthouse. It's the only thing that will guide real people (and Google) to our shores.
Thanks for reading.
Great post!
I love your Ghost Ship analogy.
While I love the efficiency that working alongside AI is providing I am still making sure that my voice is heard.
Thanks, Elyta! So glad the 'Ghost Ship' analogy connected with you.
You've nailed the core mission right there: 'making sure that my voice is heard.'
That's the entire game in 2025. Efficiency is the engine, but our unique voice is the rudder. Without the rudder, the engine just sends you in circles.
Sounds like you're navigating perfectly. Keep up the great work! ⚓
I agree, Robert.
Like you, I always ensure that every post I publish on my site reflects my unique voice. While I do use AI for assistance, I remain the captain of my ship. I achieve this by incorporating my personal experiences and stories into each post.
I'm a retired lab scientist who became a stay-at-home mom and full-time Christian blogger, and this is exactly how my assistant sounds. 😁
I Love IT!
And thank you for sharing your specific background, Alysanna. That combination—Retired Lab Scientist + Christian Mom—is exactly what I mean by 'Brand DNA.' No generic AI could ever fake that perspective!
A scientist's eye for detail mixed with a mother's heart... that is a powerful voice. That is your 'Unfair Advantage.'
Keep captaining that ship. It's the only way to sail in 2025! ⚓🙏
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LOL ....how much of this post was written by AI? Hilarious, whether it was you or you and your 'typist'. But when you say 2 hours arguing with a robot, that does prompt the question could you have written whatever it was in less than that time yourself or did 'the typist' really brainstorm with you and take it up a level? Was that two hours invested in programming your 'typist' for the future or do you need to start over the next time arguing from scratch or arguing a whole new territory??
That's a Captain's question right there, Mary. You're not just looking at the ship; you're asking to see the engine room. I love it.
You're asking about the division of labor. Here's the schematic:
The AI is my Sonar & First Mate: It does things at a scale I can't. It maps the ocean floor (analyzing user intent), finds the best fishing spots (hooks/CTAs), and drafts the initial ship's log based on my strict blueprint.
I am the Captain & Chief Engineer: I take that draft and do the final inspection. I add the scars, the stories, the grit. I make sure the voice is mine. In the end, it's always me holding the pen.
As for the "2 hours arguing"—that's the initial engine tuning. For each of my 3 niches, I have a different "persona" file. That first session is about calibrating the engine for that specific ship. After that, it's just minor adjustments for each new voyage (post), not a full rebuild from scratch.
The fleet is always growing, and the engines are always getting better. ⚓
LOL well your reply is quite an eyeopener as to what we are reading now online, as a best case scenario [for those who put in that two hours effort and follow your advice] - I'd say your reply as well as the article are very engaging and similar voice, but have left me having to read between the lines...you possibly brushed up what AI wrote for you on this article, but as to comments/replies here, not having used the new platform yet here at WA, I can only guess this same 'voice' is what I am hearing but the reply wouldn't yet be generated by AI, so likely the author/editor/ chief programmer himself then!
:) I I Mary. I merely just want to introduce the optimizational power that a dyxlexic old school illiterate slang talkin dude from the slums, but also hard working, wise, analytic, creative, etc can do with his strong leadership and heavenly principle's can do with training a crew of personalized AI Agents/Cabin Boys:) to maximize production.
...you are sort of saying a talented intelligent person can show strengths in a new niche with AI help - I suppose what I am seeing of AI before WA education is google AI summaries and my first dabblings have turned out a mix of good and shocking results eg ask it for a piece of text and it turns out mumbo jumbo in a different language that looks absolutely convincing if a person didn't know that language to begin with...that along with for example conversing with you and not knowing if I am talking to the person or a robot...it's a minefield - right now I have the most beautiful image created that could fool 99% of the population not familiar to quite an important subject but it is a total fake....fakery, we won't always be able to spot!!!