Can ChatGPT help you find fresh, relevant, third-party articles for your email newsletter? Yes.
Should it? If you value your time — and your sanity — the answer is also yes.
Welcome to use case #3 in my “AI for Marketing” series: leveraging a private, custom GPT to streamline third-party content curation for email newsletters. I call this custom GPT Newsletter Curator (creative, I know).
A Little Background
If you know me, you know I’ve been handpicking third-party content for client newsletters for years. Not just any content, though — non-promotional, audience-relevant, high-quality stuff that provides value without a purchase while positioning my client as understanding what matters to the readers.
This work is part editorial director, part audience mind-reader, part internet spelunker.
It’s fun, but it takes time. A lot of it.
Enter My New Private, Custom Newsletter Curator GPT
I’ve configured my custom Newsletter Curator GPT to understand what does – and does not — make good content. To do this I used a combination of past newsletters I’ve crafted for clients, content I created for my newsletter training workshops, an editorial job description (which I have used in the past to help my clients hire newsletter editors), and more.
Also part of the configuration: a spreadsheet I uploaded with a row for each article and column headers for title, publication, author, date, URL, summary of the content, and a short blurb that we can use in the newsletter to explain what’s in it for the reader (this will likely get massaged or re-written, but it helps us understand the value to the reader).
Once the initial configuration is complete, I used the ‘Preview’ screen to test and tweak the configuration and output until it meets my standards.
With my custom Newsletter Curator GPT, I still call the shots—but the process is faster and less tedious.
To start, I provide the GPT with a ‘Newsletter Brief’ which includes descriptions of my client’s business and their target audience, as well as a list of ‘do not consider’ publications and brands. This lets me filter out content we would not use.
Also in the brief — a short list of timely topics that I think would be interesting to readers – but I do give the GPT free reign to go in other directions.
Once it has all this information (I often ask it to confirm understanding by rephrasing what I’ve provided), I give my Newsletter Curator GPT its mission: “Please identify 10 to 12 recent, credible, engaging articles for the target audience that align with my client’s brand.”
In short order, it delivers a table of vetted content, ready for review.
The key to success here lies in the collaboration process. I don’t just take what it gives me. I often direct it to specific publications. I always initially feed it specific themes or topics. I push back if a summary feels off. If the content is really off, we may start over. We are working together on this, as I would with an intern.
The result? The same caliber of content I’d have chosen myself—just faster.
Real World Case Study Example
Let’s take a recent newsletter project for a client. Their target audience: busy B2B decision-makers looking to stay informed on workforce trends, operational insights, and financial strategy.
I fed the brief, including a few topics to consider and preferred sources, into the Newsletter Curator GPT.
It came back with a table of recent, relevant articles—no fluff, no hard sells. I reviewed them, made a few adjustments, and within an hour had a curated list I was confident putting in front of the client. Here’s a partial view of the final spreadsheet:
The client was thrilled; the content felt like it was hand-picked just for them.
(It was. With a little AI help. And yes, I fully disclosed how I used AI to help with this project. I want my clients to understand my processes and methods, so that when we separate they can carry on without me.)
And it’s not just for business information.
For my own email newsletter audience (you can sign-up here) I created a special ‘May the 4th Be With You’ issue for Star Wars day. Working with my Newsletter Curator GPT I was able to quickly identify many relevant articles and videos for the issue; view it here.
And I use my Newsletter Curator GPT to identify more ‘fun’ content for my client’s email newsletters – in less time than it would take me to do it solo.
Why It Works
- Speed without sacrificing quality. It cuts my sourcing time in half (or better), and I still get final say.
- Scalability. I use the same tool across multiple clients and industries — I just change the inputs. The configuration remains the same.
- Editorial integrity. Because I filter the results, clients never feel like they’re getting boilerplate fluff.
Could I Do It Without AI?
Sure. I have. I still could.
But why would I, when my trusty Newsletter Curator GPT can do the legwork?
Almost Final Thoughts (and a Tiny Mic Drop)
AI isn’t replacing marketing strategists like me. It’s just helping us work smarter. This is not “set it and forget it.” It’s more like having a fast, nerdy intern who understands your taste but still needs your final edit.
And honestly? I kind of love it.
Want to Build Your Own Custom GPTs?
If this piqued your interest, you might enjoy one of my upcoming AI workshops or intensives. They’re hands-on, practical, and designed to help you create and configure your own custom GPTs, whether for content curation, copywriting, audience personas, or full campaign development.
Upcoming sessions include:
- Master AI for Email Marketing (6-hour online workshop): Build three custom GPTs and leave with the foundation of your next campaign. Learn more.
- Create Your Own Custom GPT: Marketing Strategist (2-hour online intensive): Develop a GPT that collaborates with you on strategy, messaging, and more. Learn more.
- Create Your Own Custom GPT: Marketing Copywriter (2-hour online intensive): Craft a GPT that writes in your brand voice, saving you time on content creation. Learn more.
- Create Your Own Custom GPT: Target Audience Persona (2-hour online intensive): Design a GPT that provides audience feedback on your creative before launch. Learn more.
Each session is interactive, with limited lecture and plenty of hands-on exercises. You’ll need a paid ChatGPT account ($20/month) for the exercises. By the end, you’ll have a functional custom GPT tailored to your needs.
Hope to see you at an online workshop or intensive soon!
jj
Photo by Juliana Malta on Unsplash
