Scene hook
Last Tuesday at 9 p.m., I was in my living room digging through client recordings and a dozen browser tabs, and the more I dug, the more panicked I got. I’ve been stuck here too: all the material is technically there, but it still won’t come together into something I can actually send.
What this tool/method is + who’s already using it
This time, Google has rebranded NotebookLM as Gemini Notebook. You can throw in web pages, documents, notes, and recordings, and it will first “read” everything, then organize the key points, summaries, and leads around your questions. Last month, at a cafe on Wantang Road in Hangzhou, I tried it with Lin Yue, who runs Xiaohongshu accounts for clients. She uploaded client interviews and competitor links while asking follow-up prompts like, “Give me three topic directions first,” and within a little over ten minutes she had a workable first draft. Not everyone needs this, and I got this wrong at first too—I assumed it would automatically hand me conclusions. Later I realized the real time-saver is “gather first, then ask follow-up questions.”
What it costs to replicate today
Money: treat it as $0 to start. Time: 20-30 minutes for a first run. Technical barrier: low, as long as we can log into a website, upload files, and paste links. First step: after opening the product page, click “New notebook” or “Create notebook,” drop in the three materials we use most often, then ask one very specific question, like “Help me organize the 5 points this client cares about most.” It’s also fine not to try it right now—if we don’t yet have a steady flow of material, this step won’t change revenue overnight.
Advice by stage: just starting / 1-2 clients / scaling up
If we’re just starting, I’d practice with our own old content first—say, three articles plus one voice note—and see whether it can turn that into a self-introduction.
If we already have 1-2 clients, I’d create a separate notebook for each client so chats, requests, and case studies don’t get mixed together.
If we’re scaling up, I’d have the team put interviews, weekly reports, and competitor links into one fixed place, then use the same question set to pull summaries. Handoffs get a lot easier that way.