“But Here's the Truth"😝 You're Using GPT & Claude Wrong. Here's How the Smart Founders Do It.
FYI "But here's the truth" is a telltale sign that GPT wrote your content. If you didn't know, you're welcome. (now delete it always)
What’s Inside:
The 3 most common AI mistakes (and why they’re killing your brand)
The High Level GPT Framework I Use & Teach To Founders
My exact GPT Strategy for Strategic Brand Building + Thought Partnership
Real Prompt Examples: Bad vs. Good
Take Creating Forward Action: Your AI Plan For This Week
I see it everywhere: founders treating ChatGPT like their new marketing hire but it performs like an intern on day 1, and they wonder why…
Go ahead, scroll through Instagram. Check your inbox. Read a few Substacks.
I bet you’ll see that phrase at least one in every ten pieces of content, even from huge multi-million dollar coaches or entrepreneurs.
Sorry, but... FAIL.
AI tools are incredible. I couldn’t live without mine.
But they only work if you give them smart inputs, and most founders aren’t.
I see it with founders I work with.
I see it in the real world.
Founders are pumping out AI-generated content that sounds like everyone else, wondering why their engagement is tanking, why they’re not getting any “sure, tell me more” replies to their pitches.
You wanna know why?
GPT isn’t your marketing department. GPT isn’t your brand leader.
YOU ARE.
It can be your strategic thought partner, but only if you know how to use it right.
👋 Hiya! I’m Sarah Saxty, but most people call me Sax.
I’ve been referred to as “a business guardian angel”, “a pocket CMO” “community builder” and “my motivation” but in basic terms - I’m a brand marketing mentor and business coach helping beauty, wellness, and lifestyle brands launch, grow and scale.
Everything we do is rooted in my core philosophies and frameworks: Sticky Brand DNA, BFF-level Customer Connection, Aligned Marketing, and IFGT Founder Confidence.
The same things we talk about here :)
I’m 44 years into life and 20 years into my brand building career
[*career in 2X ~ fashion buyer corporate > trends reporter > NYC brand founder > marketing freelancer > fractional CMO > mentor]
I’m pretty active on Notes, and I show up here with a new post every week to help you create a brand that people are obsessed with and a business that drives sustainable revenue while stepping into your IFGT (I Fucking Got This) era as a founder and entrepreneur.
Let’s start creating forward. ↴
You wanna know what I tell founders when I see too many emdashes, blah blah copy, or “here’s the truth” bombs?
“This is too GPT-ish”.
Go back to your BFF Customer profile.
Go back to your Sticky Brand DNA.
Let’s look at that together.
“Ohhh, yes that’s so much better, thanks Sax.”
What one are you going to be?
The founders using AI strategically right now who are building sustainable competitive advantages.
The ones using it as a “do this thing for me copy + paste” are building generic brands that sound like everyone else.
Inside all my programs, I train founders to use AI strategically from the get go with my Custom GPT Guides.
But even then, they don’t get it right all the time.
That’s why the OTHER thing I say to all my founders a billion times a week is
“Remember, don’t just take GPT’s response, you are the brand leader”.
Once we’ve finalized their Sticky Brand DNA following my excavation and development process and frameworks, we create a Custom SBDNA GPT for them to leverage.
It’s a literal gamechanger.
But, if you’re leaning on GPT, without that foundational context, you’re just another founder trying to crack the code, literally.
PPS. In case you can’t tell, I write these content, not my GPT. 🤖
Let’s dig into it?
Sax - X
Three Common AI Mistakes Founders Are Making
Mistake #1: Hoping GPT Will Be a Mindreader
What founders do: “Write me a marketing strategy for my wellness brand”
What they get: Generic, one-size-fits-all advice that could apply to any brand
Why it fails: You didn’t give it context. AKA training. GPT doesn’t know anything about your Sticky Brand DNA, GPT can’t reflect your brand in content, copy, or any marketing strategy.
Mistake #2: Treating AI Like a Magic Wand
What founders do: Expect AI to make marketing disappear from their to do list
What they get: Frustrated when the output doesn’t convert
Why it fails: You’re not collaborating. You’re just telling it to do the job, then copy pasting whatever it gives you.
Mistake #3: Leaning on GPT as the Brand Leader
What founders do: Try to get GPT to generate their entire Brand DNA
What they get: A disconnected brand that doesn’t sound like you.
Why it fails: You are the massive point of difference in this brand, if you don’t inject yourself into it, what’s making you stand out?
And then on top of that, it’s probably just using some 2019 “Mission, Vision, Values and basic customer demographic” template that doesn’t cut it in 2025
The High Level GPT Framework I Use & Teach To Founders
DW, I’m breaking this down into more granular detail under this too.
Here, we’re just getting clear on your roles and responsibilities :)
You are the brand leader, so yes, this is a collaboration and you’re leading the charge.
Always.
Phase 1: Strategic Input (You)
Get crystal clear on your SBDNA
Define your goals
Start a fresh GPT Project
Program your Custom SBDNA GPT with your SBDNA
Phase 2: AI Collaboration (You + GPT)
Research, analyze, and align on your business goals and history
Brainstorm new angles
Expand on your thinking
Phase 3: Human Refinement (You)
Infuse your voice, stories, and lived experience
Pressure test messaging
Always ask for more, challenge the thinking and give it reasoning as to why so it just gets smarter
And as always, test, learn, evolve.
Continue to share your business metrics with GPT so it’s always on the same page as you.
The Framework to Turn GPT Into Your Strategic Advantage
So how should you be using AI?
Here’s a preview of how I teach my founders to turn GPT into their strategic advantage:
STEP 1: Lock Your SBDNA First (Sticky Brand DNA)
Before you touch ChatGPT, you need a Sticky Brand DNA, which means you need to have a solid brand foundation and cohesive POV.
The Sticky Brand DNA Framework:
Your founder story and unique perspective
Your BFF customer’s real language + pain points
Your brand and product positioning
Your brand language and taglines
Your conversation themes
Without this foundation, AI is about as helpful as an intern on day 1.
We work on this together inside CFI, The Creating Forward Incubator program.
I have a Custom GPT Guide to support the journey, and once we have it locked in, you program your GPT with it and create your very own SBDNA GPT.
STEP 2: Get Into Alignment With Your GPT
Instead of: Dumping all of this into the Project Instructions and Files and thinking that’s it
Try: Making sure you are both on the same page, you can do this by giving GPT examples of your best work, feedback, your inspirations, plans and business metrics.
Take screenshots of your best-performing content (emails, posts) and put them into a Canva Whiteboard, download the entire thing to share
Upload great pieces of feedback you’ve gotten from customers or collaborators
Download marketing reports and business metrics to help it understand where your marketing is at.
And of COURSE, give it your SBDNA :)
“Analyze this information and let’s have some open dialogue on where the business is at so we can align on what our next priorities should be and what direction we should go in”
You can continue to prompt it to analyze your data and do more research, look for trends and patterns and even adopt the persona of your BFF Customer Profile.
STEP 3: Treat GPT as Your Brainstorm Partner
Once you’ve done the steps above (in full detail of course!) you can use your SBDNA GPT for almost anything tbh.
AND, get sick results that support your founder mindset and accelerate your marketing journey.
Here’s a little example:
Instead of: “Write my content for my wellness brand designed for new moms”
Try: “I’m the founder of a wellness brand (here is my Sticky Brand DNA) Review the BFF customer profile I’ve uploaded, before you respond. Here is a snapshot, my BFF is a new mom in her 30s who’s burnt out and craving simplicity, but her skin is a wreck as a new mom. She values honesty, efficacy, and time-saving tools. Make sure you reference the SBDNA to understand my unique brand positioning and market opportunity, product differentiators and conversation themes, use my voice and language, also in the DNA. Help me brainstorm 10 content angles that speak to her skincare concerns and emotional needs, without overwhelming her. Provide 1 longer form that I could use in a newsletter or blog or Substack, then break it up into 5 smaller concepts for Instagram, a mix of reels, carousels and stories. We can also weave in my founder story since I went through the same thing (you’ll find that in my SBDNA too)”
Real Examples: Bad vs. Good GPT Prompts
❌ Bad Prompt: “Write me marketing content for my beauty brand”
✅ Good Prompt: “I’m the founder of a clean beauty brand. My BFF customer is a busy mom in her 30s who wants effective skincare but doesn’t have time for a 10-step routine. She values transparency and sustainability. Help me brainstorm 5 content angles that address her biggest skincare concerns and emotional needs (in my SBDNA) while highlighting our 3-step routine approach.”
❌ Bad Prompt: “Create Instagram captions for my posts”
✅ Good Prompt: “Here are 3 of my best-performing Instagram posts: [paste that data from above, screenshots and captions]. Analyze the tone, structure, and style. Now help me create similar captions for a post about [specific topic] that maintains this same voice and includes a call-to-action for [specific goal]. Incorporate elements of our SBDNA where you see fit, and always use my tone of voice, language, and, connect with our BFF Customer Profile.”
BONUS: Always say at the end “If you have a better idea, please share them before you follow this prompt”
It never hurts to get another perspective :)
Take Creating Forward Action: Your AI Plan
This week:
Audit your current AI usage - are you making any of the common mistakes?
Pull and upload brand and business context as knowledge before your next GPT session
Try one “good prompt” using the framework above
This month:
Create a prompt library based on your brand voice and customer insights
Test different AI tools for different marketing functions
Track which AI-assisted content performs best
And - if you don’t have a Sticky Brand DNA yet, well, duh - that is a must have and we can do that together inside The Creating Forward Incubator.
My last reminder: AI should amplify your strategy, not replace it. The magic happens when human insight meets artificial intelligence.
You are the brand leader. Lead.
Wanna be in the room with me and other smart business owners every day?
I have a membership for that :)
And, access is included with your paid Substack subscription…
Check out The Forward Founder Studio here.
I’ve been building communities for my entire life, I’m the one who “brings people together” who “makes the connections” who “invests in my relationships” (as told by people IN my communities :)
So, when I was building Forward Founder Studio as a home for The Creating Forward Incubator, I had this ping “Sax, this is the Creating Forward home!
This is the place you get to bring it all together, and bring all the people together and share marketing and brand building knowledge as a collective.”
FUCK YES.
This is the lowest lift way to get in the room with me to level up your marketing skills, and collaborate with the people and businesses in my ecosystem.
Check out The Forward Founder Studio.
Yes, you read it right, it’s free for you with your Paid Substack Subscription.