Earlier today I presented a brand new webinar Easier Content Creation for Nonprofits: Mastering AI, Repurposing and Curation. In addition to tips on repurposing and curating content, I included a whole section on writing better AI prompts for your communications.
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What Is Generative AI?
Think ChatGPT. Generative AI is a type of artificial intelligence that can create content based on a user’s request. That request is called a prompt. And how well your prompt is written is the key to getting the best results from generative AI.
(If you aren’t familiar with AI, see How Marketers Are Using AI (Plus 4 Helpful Tips) to get started.)
There are several different types of AI prompts including:
- Creative – when you’re asking AI to create or compose
- Informational – you’re asking for details, facts or other information
- Reasoning – you’re asking AI to draw thoughtful conclusions about a subject
- Listicle – you’re asking AI to give you the results in a list format
- Instructional – you’re asking AI to give you the results in a step-by-step guide
- Differing Viewpoints – you’re asking for AI to take the opposite side of an argument (AI can’t actually give you an opinion)
- Summary – you’re asking AI to summarize a larger amount of information
- Keyword – you’re asking AI to focus on specific words or phrases and include them in its results
If you have tried using generative AI like ChatGPT, but just don’t like the results you are getting, it may be time to work on your prompts.
Writing Better AI Prompts
Use these tips to write better AI prompts that give you the BEST results:
- Provide as much context as possible
- Be specific and detailed
- Explain what you want to achieve
- Give the platform
- Define tone of voice (and use it)
- Give desired length
- Ask for more than one result
When writing your AI prompts, be as specific and detailed as you can. And provide as much context as you can including where the content will be posted, how long it needs to be, and the tone/voice you want. And be sure to use that tone and voice even in the prompts. AI pays attention to everything you input.
For example, instead of just saying “I need a blog post about hiking safety,” your prompt should be something like:
I need a 400 to 500-word blog post written in a casual friendly tone about the dangers of hiking the Pacific Coast Trail during summer. Make it a top 10 list. The target audience is people in their 30s.
The second prompt will give you more tailored results meaning you don’t have to work as hard to edit it. And don’t be afraid to refine the prompt based on the results you get.
And be sure to ask for more than one result especially if you are using it for email subject lines or titles.
If you didn’t like the content AI comes back with, follow up with a prompt that explains what you liked about the results and what you didn’t. If you didn’t like the tone, give it an example of something written in that tone and ask it to try again.
Think of generative AI as a freelancer and give it the same feedback you would give a graphic designer. It’s really just a conversation.
But remember:
DOUBLE-CHECK EVERYTHING!
Harmful content, racial bias, copyright violations, and misinformation are all real issues. If your organization doesn’t have an AI policy, then go do that first! (And yes, Pass Holders have access to our AI policy webinar recording and templates)
AI is here to stay whether you like it or not. And it can be a helpful tool in your content creation process if you use it right.
Want to work together on your prompts? Join us for a Community Study Hall: Creating Better AI Prompts. Not a member of our community? Join now! It’s free.
