Ever struggled to get great results from AI writing? The average prompt only has nine words, but that’s not enough! Learn how to craft prompts that provide clarity, structure, and context. Discover the anatomy of an effective prompt with practical examples like finding hidden hiking gems. Explore types of prompts—quick, moderate, and deep thinking—that can enhance your communication with AI. Get valuable insights on refining your prompts for powerful copywriting and ensure your content meets high standards.
Effective AI prompts require clear, detailed instructions to avoid simplistic errors and enhance adherence to user intentions.
Understanding structure, tone, context, and constraints in prompt design significantly improves the quality of AI-generated copywriting outputs.
Deep dives
Understanding Prompt Adherence
Prompt adherence refers to how effectively AI follows the instructions given by users when generating content. Many individuals struggle with getting satisfactory results from AI due to vague or overly simplistic prompts, often limiting themselves to just a few words. For example, while asking AI to generate a sales letter requires a more detailed and structured request, users may resort to simplistic commands, leading to unsatisfactory outcomes. To improve adherence, users need to provide clear and comprehensive directions while understanding that AI requires more context than mere short prompts.
Common Issues with AI Copywriting
AI copywriting can often fall short due to several key issues, including lack of understanding of structure, tone, context, and constraints. When asked to write an email for selling a financial seminar, AI may produce a disorganized paragraph instead of a well-structured argument. Moreover, inaccuracies in conveying the intended tone can lead to results that misalign with the target audience. For instance, if AI misunderstands the demographic and adopts a casual tone when addressing a conservative audience, the final copy can miss the mark on professionalism and trustworthiness.
Improving AI Interactions with Clear Guidelines
To enhance the quality of AI-generated content, users should implement specific guidelines that cover structure, content, tone, context, and constraints. For example, specifying that an email should start with a personal story, outline three benefits, and conclude with a strong call to action helps produce coherent and persuasive copy. Furthermore, incorporating clear constraints, like word limits and preferred language, promotes improved adherence to user intentions. Finally, iterating on prompts based on previous outputs will progressively refine the AI's understanding and performance, leading to more accurate and satisfying results.
Ever get frustrated with what happens when you try to get an AI to write something?
According to Google Workspace Labs, the average prompt people give an AI is nine words or less.
Nine words!
The AI needs a lot more information than that to do a decent job for you.
But the question is–what information?
Today, we’re going to take a look at how AI goes so very wrong for so many people—and give you some proven ideas on what to do about it.
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Here’s a great general model for prompts, which has been shared in social media by Open AI President Greg Brockman:
Here's the attached image transcribed into text form:
>>The Anatomy of a Prompt<<
Goal
I want a list of the best medium-length hikes within two hours of San Francisco.
Each hike should provide a cool and unique adventure, and be lesser known.
Return Format
For each hike, return the name of the hike as I'd find it on AllTrails, then provide the starting address of the hike, the ending address of the hike, distance, drive time, hike duration, and what makes it a cool and unique adventure.
Return the top 3.
Warnings
Be careful to make sure that the name of trail is correct, that it actually exists, and that the time is correct.
Context Dump
For context: my girlfriend and I hike a ton! We've done pretty much all of the local SF hikes, whether that's presidio or golden gate park. We definitely want to get out of town – we did mount tam pretty recently, the whole thing from the beginning of the stairs to stinson – it was really long and we are definitely in the mood for something different this weekend! Ocean views would still be nice. We love delicious food. One thing I loved about the tam hike is that it ends with a celebration (Arriving in town to breakfast!) The old missile silos and stuff near Discovery point is cool but I've just done that hike probably 20x at this point. We won't be seeing each other for a few weeks (she has to stay in LA for work) so the uniqueness here really counts.
Now, what we’ve talked about today will get you to the next level with your AI prompting.
But if you want to jump up to a much higher level, once again we’re going to recommend the AI Novus Copywriting Mastermind.
Jason Parker has figured out how to get AI to write amazing copy, all kinds of copy, that requires very little editing. Complete email campaigns. Hooks for ads. Advertorials. Lists of compelling benefits.
And that’s just scratching the surface.
Nathan and I are both members, and Jason invited me to become a partner in the business. We meet every Thursday, and all the calls are recorded.
You get ready to use AI agents when you join. It’s a terrific value.
To find out more, just send an email to deb@getmynovus.ai She’ll be glad to walk you through what’s available and answer any questions you may have.
Download.
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